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With the Olympic Games in mind: Alina Böhm from JZ Heubach is doing everything she can to be there in Paris and maybe even win a medal. But the road to France is not an easy one. © Eibner press photo/Dimitri Drofit
Annoying situation: Alina Böhm from JZ Heubach even has a chance of winning gold at the Olympic Games in Paris – but she doesn’t know whether she’ll even be allowed to take part.
Heubach / Paris. Being there is everything! This is particularly true in sport for the Olympics. Alina Böhm is also currently investing everything she can to be at the games in Paris (July 26th to August 11th). The strange thing about it: The 25-year-old from JZ Heubach is one of the five best judoka in the world, she is the reigning European champion and also a medal candidate at the Olympics – together with Anna-Maria Wagner. That’s the problem: Only a German can be nominated.
Alina book and the little blue book
Alina Böhm notes everything. Handwritten. And in key words. The Böbinger woman always has her little blue book with her when she does judo. In it she notes all of her opponents. Their fighting style. Strengthen. Weaknesses. Everything. “I’ve been writing this down for a long time and I think I have all the competitors in my book now,” says the 25-year-old.
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Alina Böhm is the hunted at the European Championships
Böhm works just as meticulously on the mat. She has just returned from Kienbaum from a preparation course for the European Championships, where she is one of the favorites at the end of April. For good reason: the Böbinger woman won the title in her weight class up to 78 kilos in 2022 and 2023. “I know I’m the hunted one now, but I’ve coped well with this role over the past year,” she says. Knowing full well that title number three is anything but self-evident. “In judo, nothing can be predicted, you need a top day to end up at the top. That’s what makes it so exciting.” Nevertheless, the 25-year-old thinks she has good chances because she is currently in brilliant shape. “I feel like I’m at my best right now,” she says. The numbers prove this: The JZ fighter has always improved in the last four tournaments: 7th place, 5th place, 3rd place and most recently 2nd place at the Grand Slam in Antalya, Turkey.
The Böbinger woman and her big dream
But Alina Böhm is also under a lot of pressure, and she can’t hide the tension during the interview. “It’s all very straight,” she says, apologizing. The reason: The Böbinger woman cannot afford any slip-ups when it comes to sport if she wants to achieve her big goal in 2024: “The Olympics have been my big dream since I was little.”
Olympic qualification has long been achieved
Sure, she has long since qualified for the Olympic Games in Paris – but not her ticket. And that’s a curiosity: Alina Böhm is the top 4 among the qualifiers, her teammate Anna-Maria Wagner is the top 3. Despite the two top placements, only one of the two is nominated for the games because Germany only has one starting place. That means: Both have a real chance of winning the Olympics, but one has to watch the games on television. “It’s not easy to accept that,” says Böhm.
World Cup at the end of May and Abu Dhabi
There are still three tournaments left before the DOSB will decide which athlete it will send to Paris: Alina Böhm or Anna-Maria Wagner. First the European Championships, then a Grand Slam and finally the World Cup in Abu Dhabi at the end of May – these three competitions decide the nomination.
Relationship with rival “very professional”
“That is also difficult,” says Böhm. “If a decision is not made until the end of May, the time until the Olympics will be very short.” But the 25-year-old won’t let that deter her either. And tries to concentrate from task to task. “I do my thing and keep the focus small,” says Böhm, who works in her adopted home of Cologne together with her great rival Anna-Maria Wagner. “We train and fight together, and we get better,” says Böhm. Otherwise, the relationship between the two is “very professional”. Not more.
Alina Böhm is now withdrawing. Just concentrates on herself. “Two weeks before the European Championships, I’m in the tunnel.” She blocks out external influences. Instead, she only works with her trainer. And her friend Yannick van der Kolk – a former professional judoka.
And of course with her little blue book.
2024-04-13 04:42:01
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