Rome, 20 January 2021 – Odette Giuffrida, an Italian judoka born in 1994 who won the beautiful gold at the November European Championships in Prague, talked a little bit with us, telling us about herself and her future commitments.
Nominated for the Gazzetta Sport Awards as sportswoman of the year (2020), we made a quick dive into the recent past, right on the European Championships in Prague: “The European Championship was something special for me. Not simply for the title won but for everything that was there before and what was behind it. It was a strong and special emotion that I really deserved. To date, however, it is already a memory. I have to be honest, I don’t think about it anymore but if someone asks me a few questions about it, I automatically smile from my heart. “.
Rightly, Odette’s gaze is projected forward, towards the Olympics, which she already knows very well, given the silver she won in Rio de Janeiro in 2016: “My next months will, as always, be aimed at giving my all to arrive perfectly in Tokyo, where I want and intend to win and write another page of my history. I want to give special emotions to myself, to my country but above all to my family. I still don’t know what the next race will be. This will be a period of workload and training for me. ”.
At the European Championships, as well as at the Olympics and throughout her career, Odette has represented and will represent the Italian national team with pride and with a strength she has never hidden: “Being part of the Italian national team is really a great pride for me. Knowing that I represent my country gives me great strength. It is as if every time I get on that tatami I’m not alone but accompanied by all the Italians cheering for me from home. Today more than ever, after everything we’ve been through, it’s really a great motivation for me to try to sing our anthem and see our flag flying on top of it all. “
But what transpires most, in Odette, is her passion. She is a passionate woman and athlete. Judo is not only something she is good at, but it is much more: “What is judo for me? I think this is one of the questions where I could talk, talk without ever stopping. I don’t think I can put into words what judo is for me. Now that I’m answering, my eyes are watery just at the thought. Yes, I’m an emotional person (laughs, ed). I would say that for me judo is pure happiness, it is life, it is fun, it is my ‘safe place’, that thing that makes me forget everything and makes me feel good. I would say that the most beautiful way I have found to repay my family for all the sacrifices made for me and all the love they have always given me. My family. My family comes absolutely first for me. ”.
For Odette there is judo, there is the national team, there is, above all, the family and there is faith: “Yes it’s true, I am a person with a lot of faith, but I don’t think this is the secret to becoming champion. This goes beyond sports. It is part of my everyday life. Maybe this is the secret of who I am. “.
In short, Odette Giuffrida is a phenomenal judoka and a sincere woman, the pride of the Italian national team. We wish her a big good luck for the months to come, waiting to see her on the Japanese tatami, to fulfill her dream.
