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Olympic gold medalist visits Joint Base Langley-Eustis to share her story of sexual assault

Posted at 8:56 AM, Apr 14, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-14 10:42:19-04

Judoka Kayla Harrison of the United States poses for a photo with her gold medal  on August 12, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

NEWPORT NEWS, VA. – Olympic Judo gold medalist Kayla Harrison is at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in observance of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Harrison will share her experience with sexual assault in hopes to make a difference.

Harrison was the first American in history to win Olympic gold in Judo. Now she has done it not once, but twice, winning at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, both in the 78kg weight class.

When she’s not training, she’s touring the country as a public speaker on sexual abuse. At age 16, she revealed she had been sexually abused by her judo coach.