The Kosovar judokate, Distria Krasniqi, is far from being an unknown in the world of women’s judo: she has accumulated podiums and victories for many years, especially at the 2017 Francophonie Games in Abidjan, which saw her triumph at just 22 years. She therefore presented herself at the Japanese Olympiad with the status of favorite.
Born in 1995 in a country still under construction, Distria Krasniqi then embarked on an original journey. She started judo under pressure from her brother and against her will. The first consecrations come quite quickly, however, with a first place at a European Open in Sofia in 2014, at only 19 years old; under the banner of the International Judo Federation which it will have to display until 2015, before seeing that of Kosovo authorized in official competition. The young and talented judokate does not take long to string together convincing results.
Indeed, she obtained her first gold medal at the world championships in 2015, in Abu Dhabi, in juniors, and in the -52 kg category that she invested first before finally choosing the -48 kg from of 2019. In the meantime, Distria Krasniqi therefore triumphs at the Games of La Francophonie in Abidjan in 2017. Beyond this success, it currently has 17 victories or gold medals in official competitions of the women’s circuit or in the European championships and global. The consistency of the Kosovar, especially since 2017, the year of the explosion, places it today as world number one in its category, far ahead of its first competitor. All categories combined, she is second only to the French Clarisse Agbegnenou.
The explosive judo practiced by this formidable athlete, author of 46 ippons in official competition, made her the favorite in her category for the Olympic title. Krasniqi will therefore try to climb to the top step of the podium on Saturday July 24, 2021 at the Nippon Budokan (where the Judo events take place). The Tokyo 2020 Olympics are an opportunity to focus a little more on the rise of the athlete, and the Kosovar judo scene in general. With two first places in Masters and at the European Championships this year, the judokate is in good shape when it comes to taking on great pressure.
We wish him the best for these Games, and will follow his performance closely!
See you next Monday to discover another French-speaking talent: we will present Hugues Fabrice Zango, Burkinabé tri-athlete, gold medalist at the 2017 Francophone Games, also in search of a title in Tokyo.
