Iserlohn.
Iserlohn judoka Ulla Loosen and her partner Wolfgang Dax-Romswinkel won the silver medal in the Ju-no-Kata at the World Championships in Lisbon.
The long compulsory break has ended and the series of successes continues: The Iserlohn judoka Ulla Loosen and her partner Wolfgang Dax-Romswinkel won the silver medal in the Ju-no-Kata at the Kata World Championships in Lisbon. Most recently, the judo duo won gold at the 2019 World Cup in South Korea. Now, after the compulsory Corona break, a World Cup started again: The team missed the mission to defend their title by a gossamer.
Athletics and technique improved during the corona break
Even if there were no competitions, the two 61-year-olds worked intensively on their athleticism and fine-tuned their technique – always with “Day X” in mind. The comeback to the competition was shaped by the provisions of the Covid Protocol of the International Judo Federation: Fully vaccinated plus PCR test before the trip and directly on site at the hotel and another quick test after two days. With this protection, the 206 athletes from 25 countries were allowed to move freely in their bladders.
Training took place in a specially prepared room in the hotel – up to 30 people were allowed to book there for an hour every day. On the day of the competition, everyone got to see the hall with the competition areas for the first time. There was only 20 minutes left to get used to the terrain and the size, then the competition started in the order drawn beforehand. In the Ju-no-Kata, 19 pairs of athletes were divided into two pools: Ulla Loosen and Wolfgang Dax-Romswinkel started in seventh place in the pool of ten. The tension was enormous, after all it was a matter of defending the title against Japanese competition. The pool win came well ahead of Spain and Italy. In the final, the first three from both groups met each other, and the domestic duo improved again significantly, but the two Japanese sisters were ahead this time. The rest of the competition could be kept at a distance.
The next World Cup in Krakow is already firmly in sight
However, the two veterans in the German team emphasized that they did not lose gold, but won silver. It is still very difficult to wrest titles from Japanese athletes – after all, many judges assume the perfection from the motherland of judo. But Loosen / Dax-Romswinkel will also face this challenge at the next World Cup, which is to take place in Krakow, Poland next year.
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