Jimmy Pedro knows what it means to win an Olympic medal in judo. He has done so twice in the martial art, which was founded in Japan in 1882 and first became an Olympic sport in 1964.Pedro won a bronze medal in the Atlanta Summer Games in 1996 and at Athens in 2004, and competed in four Olympics overall (1992, 1996, 2000 and 2004). This year, he will go to the London Summer Olympics as coach of the US national team.”As far as coaching an Olympic-level athlete, you are a life coach,” Pedro said, adding that the role involves “helping people with their lives, jobs, school, relationships. Every aspect of their life, you are involved in.”Pedro took to judo as a youngster. His father, Jim Pedro Sr., is a born-and-raised Lynner who ran a judo school (Massasoit Judo Club in Peabody) since the younger Pedro was two years old. Today, Jimmy Pedro, 41, runs a school of his own in Wakefield, and from July 9-18, the whole team will train there before leaving for London on July 24.The squad is headlined by 22-year-old Kayla Harrison, who trains at 78 kilograms. Pedro called her “unquestionably our best chance at gold at the Olympics.” Harrison qualified for London as No. 4 worldwide, and now her standing has soared to No. 2.Pedro said that Harrison’s top strength is probably “mental toughness,” and she has faced tough circumstances on and off the mat – including a former coach who abused her.”He’s still in prison, paying his price,” Pedro said. “Part of her mental toughness may be attributable to that.”London represents Harrison’s first Olympic Games. She will compete on Aug. 2, two days after another team member, Travis Stevens, takes to the mat at 81 kg on July 31.Stevens, who is coming off several injuries and who enters with a No. 8 seed, is “pound for pound our best male athlete in the US right now,” Pedro said.Rounding out Team USA are Nick Delpopolo at 73 kg (“our next best male athlete in this country,” Pedro said); Marti Malloy at 57 kg (“no doubt a contender for a medal,” Pedro said); and Kyle Vashkulat at 100 kg, whom Pedro said is mainly “going for experience.”Pedro began training Stevens and Harrison about eight years ago, in the role of program director of USA Judo, working with the under-23 elite team.”The Olympic team we’re going to put on the mat, all five were part of the program,” he said.Asked to describe his own fighting style, he said, “I was a tenacious athlete. From the moment the match started till the end, the other guy knew he was in for a fight.”Rich Tenorio can be reached at [email protected].