The -52 kg double Olympic medallist has proven herself as a patient champion, despite the image of Mediterranean passion she presents. She placed 5th at the Europeans 4 times before finally winning it and becoming continental champion in 2020 but even with that title and the two Olympic medals, a world medal evaded her until Doha in 2023. There she endured epic contests with the best athletes of the category, finally beating the then -48 kg Olympic champion, Distria Krasniqi (KOS) for the bronze medal. Was that enough?
“This is different. It perhaps means even more than the Olympic medals for me, it means a lot.
In 2011 my grandmother was very sick, actually she was dying. I visited to let her know I had been selected to compete at the junior Europeans and she looked at me, straight into my eyes and said, ‘Why do you care about this because you will be world champion!’ This was the last time I spoke with my grandmother and now, honestly in my worst physical condition, I finally did it. I have no words.
This morning I didn’t think anything, I just fight. Fight by fight I tried to think about what to do. I was sort of cold, almost unfeeling but I think my heart was warm! Before the final I thought about how amazing my career would be if I could win and I was crying. It was hard work to calm down and focus to be able to win.
In every situation I put my heart and courage out there and today was a day of fighting the best. I won against a really amazing athlete. No-one gave it to me. Maybe I will never fall asleep again with this feeling and these thoughts."
"I always want to make my family happy. They are all of my happiness and imagining how they feel with this achievement is worth more than the medal itself. How we make people feel is something we carry for all our lives. Now I will take a little time to enjoy this medal.”
Odette Giuffrida will compete at the 2024 Olympic Games but she has alway indicated that this was her last world championships and what a way to finish!
