“It was again a tournament with exciting judo where over 80% of the fights finished with a positive score and nice throws. Some fights were decided by penalties, but this cannot be avoided. Nevertheless, you hope to bring fantastic and spectacular judo for the fans. But it is not always possible to guarantee that, especially today with the heavy weight categories.
There were a lot of golden scores. It is very difficult if both judokas have a strong grip on each other’s sleeves. The athletes are physically very strong, so often they need more time to perform the right technique to outwit their opponent. If I’m correct, I noticed more ippons today than on the second day.
One thing doesn’t change. The top judokas are ready to adapt to dire situations when they go into golden score. When you are able to attack from both sides of the sleeves you have a limited advantage because sometimes you don’t have a good grip and when you can switch fast and immediately attack you can definitely make a difference. Even more so if you’re unpredictable. But nothing new here. If you master several techniques, the more you can surprise your opponent. That has always been the case in judo.
Some surprising events also today witnessing World Champions being eliminated from the podium. In a tournament like the Düsseldorf Grand Slam you have an incredible number of competitors in each category, with a highest number in today’s weight category of -90kg which makes it hard for all competitors. Even if you are within the top ten, there are no presents for anyone. Every fight counts with the final objective being the qualification for the Olympic Games. I foresee even more participants next year due to this Olympic qualification. At the same time, it is also one of the strengths of judo: a high number of participating nations.
Compare this with other sports and you will notice less nations at the very top. In judo it’s very diverse. Moreover, from my past experience as an athlete and coach, I know that the qualification is a stress factor for both athletes and coaches. But they’re good actors. They don’t want to show the stress. You don’t want to let your opponent see that the pressure is eating you. You deal with it and everyone has his or her personal approach. Some judokas want to know everything about their next opponent, others just want to get the fight going.
Notwithstanding, there is a lot of stress for the athletes, coaches and also the federations as the race towards Olympic qualification is on!”