“I started judo in my home country of Slovakia when I was 8 years old. It was something different, different from other sports or hobbies. When I first saw a judogi, I had the goal to get one. We didn’t have the chance to buy from a shop; we could only get it from the government. It took a year of training before my judogi came. It was a totally different time from now.
We had good coaches who taught us to love judo and they opened up the world for us. They showed us new places when we were travelling and I didn’t see other sports offering these same opportunities. I loved it all.
In Slovakia it was common for coaches to also be referees. I started both together when I finished competing. I had been on the cadet and junior national team travelling a lot in Europe but an injury changed my course and I returned to my home club from the national team, age 20."
"I was then coaching and refereeing. I came to Australia in 2000 but I had already been a national referee in Slovakia with ten years of learning in that role. I had arrived in Australia to visit a friend who was living there. I ended up staying! I loved the country immediately and started to get involved with local judo in Sydney. I was then doing a lot of refereeing there too and in 2010 I started to referee at international events; that’s the year I received my continental licence. My IJF licence came in 2013.
It was during those early internationals that I first started to think about the possibilities, to perhaps referee at the highest level. For some, the highest level might be national or a European event but I really wanted to reach the top. I came to the World Judo Tour in 2015 and since then I have been travelling a lot, to officiate at all these competitions."
"This is my third Olympic Games as a referee. When I was selected for Rio, it had been a very fast turnaround from the start of my WJT story to the Olympic Games. I was chosen by Oceania having had some good classifications at various events. I felt like a rookie but I think I did a good job at that first Games.”
How do you stay at that top level for so long; it requires so much focus and exactness? “I always have to enjoy judo, this is the first goal. When I enjoy it, I can reach my goals and the image of myself that I have in my head. Judo is a way of life. I try to do everything in the right way, to be a good person. I follow my personal rules of behaviour and accountability.
Everyone has a different personality but if I could speak with young referees who are just starting I would explain to them that my first sensei taught me to love judo. The new referees must enjoy it too. Don’t rush, don’t go too fast. It’s not possible to pick up all the advice and apply it too quickly. Take your time and be patient without pushing beyond your limits.
I am from one of the most competitive clubs in Australia, Budokan in Sydney, and they supported me a lot too. I’m grateful to have found a club in my new home country and urge anyone aspiring to be a referee, to have their judo family around them too. None of us can do it alone.”
Lubomir is ready to enjoy the rest of the Paris Olympic Games because, after all, that is the point!