Judokas Katharina Haecker, Aoife Coughlin and Joshua Katz have been selected to compete in Paris’ Champ de Mars Arena.
Report ! M.Naveed
 |
Haecker equals the most Olympic judo appearances by an Australian woman at her third Games, while Coughlan and Katz return for their second Games.
Haecker has won Grand Prix silver and bronze this year, with Coughlan earning two Grand Slam podium finishes in the last 12 months.
Katz has battled through challenges during the qualification period to secure his second Games appearance. He continues his rich family history, with brother and now-training partner Nathan a dual Olympian and mum Kerrye a competitor at the 1988 Olympics when judo was a demonstration sport.
Coughlan and Haecker are both in pre-Games preparations in Europe, while Katz was inspired by 40 young judokas he coaches in Sydney surprising him with his Qantas ticket to Paris.
The team includes coach Daniel Kelly – a four time Olympic judoka competitor and now third Games as a coach, making Paris his seventh Games in a row as part of the Australian judo team.
Today’s announcement brings the announced Australian Olympic Team size to 235 of an expected 460-strong Team.
Chef de Mission Anna Meares celebrated the trio’s achievement.
“Congratulations to Katharina, Aoife and Josh on your selection to the Australian Olympic Team,” Ms Meares said.
“Being selected for an Olympic Team is an extraordinary accomplishment, and these athletes have all shown incredible resilience and dedication to their sport to qualify for these Games.”
“Katharina and Aoife have achieved remarkable results in the lead up to Paris, demonstrating the Australian judokas are a force to be reckoned with in Paris.”
“Josh has demonstrated impressive resilience, continuing his family’s judo Olympic legacy in Paris. Seeing the joy and inspiration in the young athletes Josh coaches as they got to share in his Olympic moment is a special reminder of the power of the Olympic movement in Australia.”
Haecker, who will compete in the -63kg division in Paris, said it feels amazing to be officially selected to her third Olympic Team.
“This time I feel very prepared. I’ve had some amazing results over the qualifying period, and I am feeling ready to step it up in Paris,” Haecker said. “A lot of hard work goes into competing in Judo.”
“The sports require a lot of commitment, discipline and just trusting the process. When I step out in Paris, I want to give my best, do myself justice and get that medal.”
Twenty-eight-year-old Coughlan feels at home on the judo mat – her parents met at a judo club when they were in university and Aoife has been competing in the sport since she was five.
“This is something I have been working really hard towards since Tokyo, so I am really excited to be officially selected to the Team,” Coughlan said.
“We have a really great view of the Eiffel Tower from our arena, the crowd is going to be huge, it will be loud, and it will just be fantastic!”
“Performance wise, I’ve had a great prep and lead up. I know I can win a medal and if I fight as well as I can on the day, I know it is possible.
“As long as I do myself justice and all the work I have put in, I will be happy with my performance.”
Josh Katz heads to his second Olympic Games.
“It feels amazing to be selected. To be able to now focus on Paris is a pretty awesome feeling and I’m really excited for the next couple of weeks ahead.”
“It was such an awesome surprise being presented my boarding pass by some of the kids. I remember being the same age as them training in the exact same club that we were in, so it was a pretty cool full circle moment for them to hand me the ticket to my second Olympics.”
“I’m really lucky to have Nathan by my side, he knows me better than anybody. He has been there for all of the hard bits and all of the good bits too, so it’s really nice that we can experience another Games together.”
Five-time Olympian Maria Pekli, who contested two for country of birth Hungary before three Games representing Australia, is GM of Performance and Pathways at Judo Australia.
“Judo Australia can’t wait to see our three Olympians put their skills to the test in Paris,” Ms Pekli said.
“Our team have defeated many opponents in the top ten over the qualification period and have a realistic chance for a medal. We wish them and our coaches well.”
CombatAUS CEO Alex Vallentine congratulated the athletes.
“We’re incredibly pleased, in partnership with Judo Australia, to see these athletes selected to the Australian Olympic team for Paris 2024,” Mr Vallentine said.
“Three high quality athletes, all with Olympic experience, who have proven ability to win medals at the international level.”
