Amazing scene this Tuesday morning in Tokyo in the women’s Olympic judo tournament: to motivate his athlete, a German coach sent him … two slaps in the face.
There are coaches who focus on psychological preparation, emotional management, those who develop precise strategies. And then there is that of the German Martyna Trajdos …
While the women’s Olympic judo tournament, -63 kg category, which the Frenchwoman Clarisse Agbégnénou will try to win, is taking place this Tuesday in Tokyo, an astonishing scene was captured by the realization during the round of 16. Or more exactly before the fight between Trajdos and the Hungarian Szofi Ozbas.
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Two slaps and one defeat
While her protégé was going to climb on the tatami mats, the German’s coach tried to motivate her in a “manly” or even brutal way, by shaking her like a coconut tree before giving her two good slaps, one on each cheek.
A ritual that did not disconcert the person concerned, undoubtedly accustomed to this kind of treatment, but which obviously challenged on social networks. Some questioning the effectiveness of such a method, others being indignant about it, and still others having fun, like the French basketball player Evan Fournier, who recalled having been raised by judoka parents.
Ah yes: all this did not prevent Martyna Trajdos from losing in her round of 16, and from taking the door in her first fight.
