Judo: Fifth Olympian Scoccimarro wins the Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi

Fifth in her first participation in the Olympics, in addition to bronze with the German team last summer in the Tokyo Olympics. Now a normal day has begun to compete once again for judoka Giovanna Scockimaro of MTV Vorsfelde. But the start was not normal, but it was great for a fighter in the 70k class. In Abu Dhabi, the 24-year-old won the first major tournament of her life on Saturday.

The qualification period for the 2024 Olympics wouldn’t start until May, so the field wasn’t well filled and wasn’t full either. The world number seven was ranked 1. Expectations were correspondingly high – not least theirs. “I’ve already dealt with the gold medal, but the medal was definitely important to me,” she said before the competition.

The intensity of the force in her weight is high, she felt at the start of the tournament against the Swedish Edda Eriksson. After a fight time of 7:26 minutes, Ericsson received the third warning. “The fight was just about getting in. But that also really bothered me,” Giovanna says, looking back. With that success she was already the pool winner and was in the semi-finals.

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The final also went into overtime. Against Japanese Shiho Tanaka there was a decision only after eight minutes. Tanaka has not appeared internationally since 2019, others have been vying for Olympic tickets, and the intensity and breadth of competition in the judo home country is enormous. Tanaka has previously shown this in her victories against Ayovi Coghlan (Australia) and 2019 World Champion, Yves Marie Jahi of France.

Scoccimarro kept his cool despite two warnings (the third meaning Niederalge) and the decisive Waza-ari fell. “I stayed mentally focused and kept focused,” the athlete said. Bossa praised with great satisfaction: “She didn’t show any weakness in strength and stamina and I always stayed on the line.” “We are happy, happy and proud.”