The unfortunate qualifying phase for the Olympic Games of judoka Julia Figueroa will have its end on January 2 when she is not on the final list of Spain for the Paris event. Just an injury or a drop of 20 places in the olympic world ranking of the selected Spanish judoka, the one from Madrid Laura Martínez Abelendawould allow the Cordoban woman to access the Olympic plaza on June 23.
A radical turn
Everything was going smoothly in October 2022 for Julia Figueroa when a gold at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam gave her second place in the world rankings in the -48 kilo weight class, the best of her career. The best Spaniard on the list would go to Paris and the woman from Córdoba had a wide gap over Laura Martínez and Mireia Lapuerta, her two greatest rivals.
Precisely, in October 2022 he published the Spanish Federation a circular in which he warned that the best Spanish of each weight would go to Paris on December 31, 2023. In this way, the classification criteria changed with respect to the Tokyo Games, in which the best achieved it on May 31 of the Olympic year. With this variation in the regulations, the Federation sought to focus on one representative by weight in the preparation of the Games during the year 2024.
A fatal injury
Problems came for Julia Figueroa when she suffered an injury in the last weeks of 2022 which took him away from the tatami for six months, specifically until June 2023. His absence from the competitions caused Laura Martínez and Mireia Lapuerta to approach him in the Olympic ranking, since in July 2023 he had dropped from 2nd to 16th place with 1,325 points . Meanwhile, Laura Martínez was 18th with 1,274 and Lapuerta 19th with 1,259.
They are absence of medals in 2023 took him in October of this year to drop to third place among the Spanish women in the Olympic classification, as she was in 18th place, Laura Martínez being 12th and Mireia Lapuerta being 13th. Not being among the first two Spaniards left her off the list for the European Championship in November, his first exclusion from a selection list since 2013 without being injured.
Not going to the European Championship provoked the indignation of Julia Figueroa by complaining that he had found out about the decision through social media. Figueroa expressed his discomfort at “finding out through social networks that he was not part of the team that will represent Spain in the next European Championship at such an important moment for Olympic qualification.” The judoka added that she seemed “to have an overwhelming lack of empathy, professionalism and respect.” “I have not been the first but with this statement I hope to be the last.”
The comeback that does not come
Julia Figueroa continued to drop positions on the Olympic list by falling to 22nd place, with Laura Martínez in 12th and Mireia Lapuerta in 13th. She could only qualify by winning gold in December at the Tokyo Grand Slam, a feat that was close. to achieve, because he won the silver medal. With the Tokyo metal she rose to tenth place with 2,645 points, one position and 199 points behind the first Spaniard, Laura Martínez, ninth with 2,844, and again ahead of Mireia Lapuerta, twelfth with 2,529.
The current classification will leave Julia Figueroa out of the Olympic Games, unless Laura Martínez renounces it before June 23, 2024 due to an injury, any other problem or if she drops so low in the Olympic table that the Federation cannot call her, which would only happen if she drops below 29th place. It must be taken into account that Spain has the right to a place in the weight of -48 kilos but only if the best Spanish is among the 29 best on June 23, 2024. Lapuerta has it easy to stay among the 28 best, since the current 29th, the Turkish Ersin, has 1,442 points, almost half that of Lapuerta.
Julia Figueroa therefore finds it almost impossible to be an Olympian for the third time, since she did participate in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro and in 2021 in Tokyo. At 32 years old, she will have a difficult time competing in the 2028 Games, although she assures that she will fight until the end to compete in 2024 in Paris.
2023-12-13 09:28:07
#misfortune #judoka #Julia #Figueroa #fight #Olympic #place
