After last year’s stoppage, Antonella Smart from Comodoro returned to compete at the highest level, in the National Apertura Judo Championship held in Villa Carlos Paz (Córdoba). The young elite athlete was runner-up in Seniors up to 48kg, with great performance, looking for greater challenges for the remainder of the year.
It was the first national organized by the Argentine Judo Confederation, with good performances by Comodorense athletes such as Alan Elgueta and the participation of Emiliano Sillero, Denis Campo and Doris Grant, highlighting the return to competition of Smart, who is currently based in Buenos Aires, but continues to represent Comodoro Rivadavia.
“I continue to represent Chubut and Comodoro because I did not change Federations. So I only train at the UBA, but to compete I continue through the province,” he commented.
The National Apertura took place at the beginning of the month in Córdoba, where Smart won a silver medal in the Senior category up to 48kg, with a solid performance in his return.
“In 2023 I started training at the end of July, at the University, in the sports field that the UBA has, with Jorge Repetto. I really left CeNARD because I had to focus on studying and I had to support the expenses, so I started working,” described “Anto” Smart regarding his impasse in terms of competition.
“Last year I returned to Comodoro only for the holidays, taking vacations from my work. There I spoke with Hernán (Martínez, president of Comodoro Deportes) and we planned everything this year. The idea is to compete again, to get back to the experience I had before I quit. See how things are going,” he explained.
“Likewise, I discussed everything with Hernán, who wanted to take a break to accommodate me, and the support from him and Comodoro Deportes was always there. They helped me bank that time I didn’t train and they still help me today. They even gave me great help for this Apertura tournament,” said the judoka.
“I trained for six months and went a whole year without competing. The idea of this tournament was to see how I was doing. I went without pressure or high expectations, because I wanted to test myself and see what level I am at, after not competing for so long,” she said.
2024-05-15 19:05:13
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