If you’re a judoka competing within the ladies’s -63kg class, you must positively contemplate migrating to Slovenia! There’s an nearly assured gold on the subsequent Olympics for the taking. The nation has been firing up Olympic champions on this weight class for the reason that London 2012 Video games the place the primary to style victory was Urška Žolnir, with Tina Trstenjak following swimsuit in Rio 2016. Final week in Paris, Andreja Leški joined the golden lineup. What’s it about these women, this nation and this weight class that makes them so profitable? Trstenjak provided her perception.
I don’t have a definitive reply to that. Jokingly, I might say that in Slovenia we solely select ladies who weigh 63 kg to work with! However that’s not the case. It simply occurred naturally. It began with Urška, continued with me and Andreja, and I hope it would proceed sooner or later. Now we have a distinct coaching system in Slovenia. We prepare by membership, and since we weren’t in the identical membership we not often educated collectively. With Andreja Leški’s medal Slovenia now has seven Olympic medals in judo, 5 of them within the -63 kg class and three of them gold! It’s each, loopy and superb!
So though we don’t have the recipe to their secret, Trstenjak was onsite inhaling and almost definitely relieving each single second of it. How was it for you watching historical past repeat itself?
It was an incredible day for Slovenia, Andreja and all of the followers who loved nice judo. Andreja gave an excellent efficiency, displaying her greatest from the morning. She actually deserved to win. Once I retired I knew it was time for a brand new technology. I’ve achieved the whole lot attainable and I’m pleased with my profession. It’s fantastic to see that the -63kg class actually belongs to Slovenia now and I’m glad I had the chance to observe it dwell in Paris.
After being a sparring accomplice in London and competing in Rio and Tokyo, watching Paris was a tremendous expertise with a implausible ambiance, a packed venue and unbelievable judo. It was fantastic to see folks I used to compete with and to see Andreja on her approach to changing into an Olympic champion. It was an outstanding day!
Everybody is happy to see whether or not Leški can be operating for LA2028. If she does, in concept, it’s price wanting ahead to reserving a medal for her. And whereas we’re ready, let’s get pleasure from watching the subsequent technology of Slovenian judo stars blossom earlier than our eyes.
Writer: Szandra Szogedi
Share
Tweet
Telegram
WhatsApp
E-Mail
