2004 - Urska Zolnir: bronze
2012 - Urska Zolnir: gold
2016 - Tina Trstenjak: gold
2021 - Tina Trstenjak: silver
2024 - Andreja Leski: gold
Andreja Leski, the latest Slovenian Olympic champion, is proud of her heritage in the simple of form of national pride and also in sporting terms. “The judo women in Slovenia, from a population of just 2 million, have become a powerhouse. This year we had a campaign in Slovenia promoting nature and Olympic spirit and the slogan was ‘it’s all in our nature.’ It’s on point! We are a hardworking nation. We have results and have learned what it takes to come here.”
There is the question of why has a trend appeared at -63 kg particularly. Surely there’s some sort of quantifiable reason for it? Is it simply that the competition became so strong domestically that the benefit was almost a foregone conclusion internationally?
“This is all going on unconsciously. Of course we have had each other, cycle after cycle. I just want to enjoy it here though and not try to unpick it all now, it’s time to enjoy these Games. Everyone else puts pressure on me because I’m walking in big shoes but my aim was to enjoy and to leave with great memories and now I have the gold medal too so it’s a different set of great memories.
The Tokyo cycle was crazy. I didn’t feel so much at the time but once it was over I did. I had an amazing 2021, reaching the final block at every competition, which was fantastic. We were both in top 5 of the world rankings, Tina and I and so it was devastating to go through that, not being selected for the 2021 Games. Looking back though, I feel it had to go that way. It increased my desire, starting from there. Throughout this 8 years, the desire became stronger. In London and Beijing we had an -81 kg man competing, Aljaz Sedej, who is now Secretary General for our federation. A few weeks ago we spoke and he said his biggest barrier was a lack of real desire and I could feel that I definitely didn’t miss out on that part. I have been working so hard to achieve this goal. With the desire I had, it was easy qualifying this year which gave me more time and energy to prepare for the competition day itself."
"Clarisse and I have had different approaches at photo shoots and media occasions. She has been the main focus for the fans, for the country, but I knew all along I had the chance. My performance progresses from one meeting to the next, it did every time we fought. The last time I lost just on a shido which is not a total loss, just a small mistake. I was really prepared. I also felt her confidence which in some ways was a good thing for me. I had nothing to lose, could go all in. I couldn’t feel her defending and it’s not nice to feel that people don’t think you have a chance but in the end it was a plus for me, a space for my surprise.
I’m sure Clarisse was also really focussed and expected a tough fight. My warm-up partner talked about the pressure on Clarisse and that motivated me too as I didn’t have that at all.”
What does a win of this magnitude mean for you now?
“It’s great that with this medal I can have a voice in sport. I have a lot of opinions on things that really matter, both inside and outside sport. Already, just one day after winning this medal I could feel feedback from home and even in these first interviews I am being given the chance to speak about my ideas and my route here. I know I have been somewhat overlooked in the past with the media not seeing me. Maybe now I can make some changes where it will benefit future athletes.
I have seen other athletes receive a huge backlash from making small mistakes in competition. People don’t understand how much everyone puts into it, to get here and compete at this level. There can be a lot of very negative messages and athletes who are already down don’t need that added negativity. Maybe I can promote positive and intelligent support from people in the future so that our athletes can recover and become stronger again in the future. It hurts my heart to see any athlete isolate themselves due to this public weight of opinion. I will advocate for better responses and systems. There can only be 4 people on the judo podium and everyone must realise this; most will lose, only one judoka will win all of their contests. Now with this medal I can advocate for better media coverage, among other things.
Now though, I will take a break, a month, maybe two or three. I want to put competition to one side for a little while. With the Tokyo cycle we had no break, straight after the Games we were back on the WJT but this time I’m having a real break, after 8 years. I’m a real foodie but have had to be careful throughout these years of course, so I will enjoy spending some time as a gourmande.”
Andreja Leski deserves a rest and the time to plan her coming years, now as an Olympic champion, a title she will carry for life.