Christa was neck-and-neck with Jessica Klimkait, Canadian teammate, throughout the last cycle but that selection went to Klimkait who then won a bronze medal in Tokyo. This time round the situation was reversed and Christa came to Paris and left with the gold medal. That story has been told often and so now its time for Christa’s new history, this new solo part, the chapter in which she became Olympic champion.
“Before the Games everything was about winning the ticket. At the Olympics I was just here to have fun with judo. Before this, everyone had the qualification and ranking to focus on and so the final preparation has been short. Once at the Games, it’s the place where you can do your best and have fun on the mat.”
At first ‘fun’ seems to be a strange word to choose. “It was tough, hard, it hurt. There was a lot going on. But it’s the highest step for judo, the biggest competition. Fun is not just laughing and joking, but being able to do your best, to play this game we all chose to do, to play it with respect for everyone and for the sport. Someone always wins and others always lose, it’s a normal part of the process, but to be able to do your best freely at the Olympic Games, this is fun.
I know that I won the medal but in some ways I was lucky. I don’t actually remember so much from the semi-final or final. Either judoka could have won either of those matches. The semi-final was a very close fight."
"I tried to avoid what happened at the worlds against Mimi Huh. There my head was down and I went too far forward. I changed to head up and to pull a lot more, simple things. I didn’t do anything special after the worlds, just focused to be sharp.
I fought Huh a long time ago but was shocked at the worlds because she had changed a lot. I think it was good that I lost in Abu Dhabi otherwise maybe I wouldn’t have found the solutions to win this time. To do my best is the fun part. The worlds wasn’t my best. This Olympic Games was more fun because I gave my best on the day."
"I succeeded in every way I wanted to. Even if I lost I would have something positive to take from it. I was most happy to be able to bring my family to the Olympics. My grandmother came to Europe for the first time so she could be with us in Paris, having only left Japan twice before to watch us fight in Doha and Abu Dhabi.”
"Christa and Kelly’s grandmother, Kesako Deguchi said, “I am really happy to be able to travel, even at 85. It means a lot to me. Everyone is happy for me that I could be here to support my granddaughters. My brother in law told me, as a former judoka who was cheering for them since Christa was 3, when she was selected alongside Kelly, that the key to going is that it is something to be proud of for the rest of your life. Now with the gold medal, it is even more significant.”
Christa also spoke about sharing the ride with her sister, “Kelly had a tough draw but she also did her best, it was the best she has fought against Uta. When the draw came out she was shocked at first but she found faith in herself and reacted really positively. She is taking steps up and despite that loss is already looking forward to preparing for and competing at the worlds next year.
This was a shared journey. Kelly had to win too to come here. In the Tokyo cycle I was alone but having my sister here in this cycle through this same process meant I was not alone. Having both of us here made it a huge thing for our family. It’s good to share this crazy ride.”
The Deguchi family leave Paris with two Olympians, one gold medal and a lot of immeasurable shared memories.
