JUDO: Australia’s leading judokas will be looking to take a giant leap towards securing a spot at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games when they kick off their World Championship campaign in Kazakhstan today.
The competition is a crucial stepping stone towards Olympic qualification with significant ranking points on offer for athletes.
The ten-strong Australian team features only one Olympian in Jake Andrewartha (London 2012) as a new generation of judo stars look to upset their more fancied rivals on the world stage.
“Hopefully we’ll pick up a few points towards the Olympics there,” Melbourne athlete Hannah Trotter said.
“It is a really high scale tournament that is worth a lot of points.
“I’m feeling really strong, so I’m really excited.”
Trotter and her teammates have been putting the hours in on the mat and in the gym as they brace for their toughest test outside of Olympic competition.
“It’s pretty crazy. We train 20 plus hours a week which is a mix of conditioning, judo and cross-training with juditsu.
“I definitely have to raise the bar a bit. I’ve definitely upped my training since the Commonwealth Games.”
While she has competed at many high quality tournaments around the world, Trotter is still looking to achieve her ultimate goal.
“Ever since I started judo I always wanted to be in the Olympic Games so it would be a dream (to make it).
“I’d like to win a medal, that would be awesome, but a top eight placing would be great.”
Australia was given a boost prior to the tournament kicking off when current coach Maria Pekli was inducted into the International Judo Federation Hall of Fame.
Pekli won bronze at her debut Olympic Games in Sydney 2000 before going on to compete at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008.
She missed out on a second Olympic medal in Beijing after going down in the bronze medal playoff.
Trotter is Australia’s first athlete up when she competes in the U52 category from 3pm (AEST).
Australia athletes
Women
u/52 - Hannah Trotter
u/63 - Katharina Haecker
u/70 - Aoife Coughlan
u/78 - Miranda Giambelli
Men
u/73 - Jake Bensted
u/81 - Eoin Coughlan
u/90 - Diego Barreto & Sebastian Temesi
u/100 - Duke Didier
o/100 - Jake Andrewartha
