The Italian national judo team is significantly strengthened thanks to a new arrival that they had already talked about in recent weeks and which was made official today. The International Judo Federation has in fact given its approval to the change of nationality requested by Kim Polling, who from Dutch has become Italian in all respects. Kim Polling is 33 years oldwon the bronze medal at the 2013 World Championships and was European Champion in 2013, 2014, 2018. In her career she also boasts five successes in the Grand Slam.
The news was given by the athlete herself on her social profiles: “Hello everyone, my name is Kim Polling and I can tell you that from today I can represent Italy. I’m super proud, grateful, happy and I don’t know… a thousand more words to tell you this news. I’ll tell you a little about myself, I’ve been living in Italy for eight years, I married an Italian called Andrea Regis, he was also a judoka. We have a daughter, Aurora, who was born almost two years ago and we live in San Mauro Torinese. This year I made the request to the IJF to change nationality and today the notification arrived that the ok was given. I’m really super proud, grateful and I want to thank Italy, thank the Accademia Torino, the gym where I’ve been training for seven years and I can’t wait for the future. We’ll see what I can do“.
Francesco Bruyere, head coach of the women’s national team, declared through federal channels: “He made, out of love, an important life choice that must be respected and welcomed in the spirit of friendship and mutual prosperity of judo. Kim is a champion of absolute value and for the Italian national team having her on the team is a great opportunity as well as being a growth stimulus for the athletes of the same category. The 70kg is still open for Olympic qualification and the girls will all be put in a position to earn the Olympic pass, let’s remember that the 70kg is a fundamental category for the team competition. In the meantime, let’s say a big welcome to Kim Polling”.
2024-04-18 21:06:28
#Proud #grateful #Important #piece #team
