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Road to Rio heats up for Giambelli

 

Road to Rio heats up for Giambelli

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AOC
Road to Rio heats up for Giambelli
With Rio 2016 just around the corner, Aussie judoka Miranda Giambelli will be one of three Aussie athletes lining up at this weekend’s prestigious World Masters event in Guadalajara.

JUDO: With Rio 2016 just around the corner, Aussie judoka Miranda Giambelli will be one of three Aussie athletes lining up at this weekend’s prestigious World Masters event in Guadalajara.

Invitations to the tournament are only afforded to athletes in the top 16 Olympic adjusted rankings meaning the competition in Mexico will be red hot.

The Masters is the last tournament prior to the rankings being finalised on May 30 with Giambelli and her two competing compatriots Katharina Haecker and Nathan Katz on track for Olympic debuts in Rio.

With the fields stacked with Olympic and World Championships medallists, Giambelli will line up in the -78kg division in Mexico.

“This is my first Masters so I am extremely excited and proud for being selected for this major competition,” said the 24-year-old.

“My training is going great, I am currently recovering from a big injury and it is all going in the best way possible. I cannot wait to fight in Mexico also to test my body.”

With many of the world’s top athletes all but guaranteed spots in Rio due to their rankings, the Masters event will feature all the majority of major medal hopes for the 2016 Games.

“More or less we will be the same fighting in the Olympics so it’s going to be an amazing experience,” continued Giambelli.

“Only the top 16 in the world are selected, only the best.”

The opportunity to fight at the tournament will give the 24-year-old the chance to get to know her main rivals when it comes to the biggest tournament of her life come August.

“It is going to be very interesting as it will be like a low key Olympics, with the same people fighting in a different spot and obviously a much different environment.

“I will keep an eye on everyone fighting over there as it will be a good opportunity to see the top seeds fighting each other and learn a lot from them.

“I will give my best to test my skills and my level.”

Following the event, Giambelli’s attention will turn to living out her Olympic dream.

“After Mexico, I have a whole month of hard training in Milan increasing my training sessions.

“The whole team will be travelling to Hungary for the last competition before the Games and then we will have training in Budapest and another one in Castelldefels, Spain.

“It will be a hard couple of months, I cannot wait to be ready and fly to Rio with my teammates.” 

Australia is expected to have seven judokas competing in Rio, one more than represented the green and gold at London 2012. 

Matt Bartolo
olympics.com.au

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