Dakar Bound Amid Career Shifts
German judo standout Jolina Reinhold leaves for Dakar, Senegal, on October 29, 2025, to compete in the Youth Olympic Games, with the 17-year-old targeting the gold medal in the 63-kilogram weight class despite starting a police career in Munich just weeks prior, according to regional media reports. The tournament runs from November 1 to November 3 across eight weight categories, featuring a streamlined field of twelve participants where each nation is permitted to enter only their top-ranked athlete.
Balancing the Munich Police Academy and the Mat
The transition to the dual sports promotion program with the Bavarian police required Reinhold to move out of her family home and relocate to Munich in mid-September 2025. This dual-track setup divides her schedule into an eight-month competition phase and a four-month classroom phase. Rather than disrupting her athletic ambitions, the new daily routine alongside TSV Abensberg colleagues coincides with a dominant competitive run that included defending her German U18 and U21 titles after moving up to the 63-kilogram division, capturing gold at the U18 World Championships in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and securing a first-place finish at the Junior European Cup in Podgorica.
Preparing for the Youth Olympic Games Mat
In Dakar, Reinhold’s schedule centers on weight monitoring, training sessions, and climate acclimatization ahead of her opening matches. Because of qualification criteria set for the Games, the world’s top-ranked U18 competitor in her weight classโSlovenia’s Ilariia Tsurkanโdid not qualify, elevating Reinhold’s status among the tournament’s leading contenders. I am out to win every fight,
Reinhold stated regarding her gold-medal expectations. As an U18 world champion, I expect myself to be up front at the Youth Olympic Games and take gold.
Reinhold Targets Olympic Qualification for Los Angeles and Brisbane
Beyond the Youth Olympic Games, Reinhold has outlined a long-term trajectory toward senior Olympic competition. She intends to target qualification for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, with the 2032 Games in Brisbane serving as a secondary objective should her timeline require adjustment. The judoka acknowledges that her unbeaten run will eventually face setbacks, noting that losses are part of development, though she relies on her persistence to push through demanding bouts.
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