She flew through the early rounds at the Champs-de-mars Arena, a bye in the first and a win over the Indonesian athlete in round two. There was then a victory over Israel’s Gefen Primo in the third before meeting current world champion and double Olympic medallist Odette Giuffrida in the semi-final. That was another win and into the final went Distria, her second Olympic final in a row. It was Keldiyorova (UZB) who eventually won the gold but Distria is clear about what her silver medal means.
“This medal, of course it’s a big thing. I was disappointed only for a few minutes with the silver but after talking with my coach, Kuka, I was ok; two categories, two finals. I’m happy with the result and I am proud of myself."
"I talk to many athletes about the feeling after taking medals. After Tokyo it was bigger because I was so focused and then, the next day, it was gone. There was nothing more to think about. I feel it again here, a kind of emptiness, but it isn’t as big this time. I know it will be ok, I’ve been here before. It’s a strange reality for us that when we spend all our energy aiming at this one thing, whether we succeed or not, so often there is a sort of nothing ahead of us, the need to focus is finished. I will manage this feeling better this time and after some weeks it will pass. I will enjoy this result."
"I will continue to train for now, not thinking about another Games as it’s too far away, but if things go well maybe there will be another cycle. I’m definitely not ready to stop yet. I will take the next cycle more calmly, although I said that before Tokyo too and it didn’t take long to change! Kuka also said this time to not think about another Games, to rest, to take time and recover.
As far as the final goes, I was so focused in the semi-final and the final came so fast that I hadn’t moved my focus on. I was a little bit happy about winning the semi-final and I didn’t refocus for Diyora. Also I trained very hard to fight the Japanese in that final. We work to analyse everyone but especially Uta. So, I had a different opponent from the one expected and only a little time to make the switch. Anyway, on the day Diyora was focused against us all and was amazing. Diyora deserved the gold."
"As a team, not just one medal or result, we are important to the country. A second medal at the Games brings me a lot of respect too. Majlinda’s medal was the big one for us, the one that changed lives. Mine and Nora’s medals contributed and all together they have impacted all sport in Kosovo. Other sports now have better investment because we have become ambassadors for the country. We showed that through sport we can rise above the problems we had in our recent history.”
That final message is one which should be emphasised. Sport can help us rise above our nations’ problems, it changes people’s lives for the better.