“I’m very disappointed with me”: Scoccimarro has to fear for the Olympics after the World Cup

Giovanna Scoccimarro looks at the clock next to the mat. The green colored time turns red at 8:50 minutes. The judo ace from MTV Vorsfelde receives the third Shido (penalty in judo) and loses the round of 16 at the World Cup in Hungary against Aoife Coughlan.

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It was an exhausting drama against the Australian, whom Scoccimarro had defeated at the Masters in Doha in January and thus won bronze. After the regular fight (four minutes) it was time for the golden score, the extra time. After another eight minutes and 50 seconds, both were exhausted and were looking for the last reserves of strength. Scoccimarro’s third punishment also meant her end. After a total of 12:50 minutes – a fight time that would have been enough for over three duels. A very bitter defeat for the Hanoverian.

The 23-year-old, who had previously won against Gulnoza Matniyazova (Uzbekistan), was not at all satisfied with her day of competition: “I am very disappointed with myself that I fought so badly against the Australian.” Words fail her as she ponders why she lost the fight. “It would certainly have been more,” she says.

Nomination on Tuesday

Was she a step further with her head – in the direction of Tokyo? The association has not yet awarded the German place in the weight class up to 70 kilograms. The World Cup in Budapest was the last chance to qualify. Scoccimarro, who went to the World Cup with 4803 points and thus almost 1000 points ahead of her national competitor Miriam Butkereit (3821), also remains in the qualifying ranking, even after the Glinderin in Budapest.

Scoccimarro gets 320 points for the round of 16. Butkereit was still fighting for bronze in the afternoon, but lost her decisive duel with the Dutchwoman Sanne van Dijke. Scoccimarro therefore remains ahead in the ranking.

But is the better placement actually enough for the coveted ticket for the Olympic Games? Or is the impression made at the World Cup a few weeks before the start of the Olympic Games? The judo federation will nominate the athletes on Tuesday.

Until then, it will be uncomfortable days for Scoccimarro. “I think a lot and hope that the Judo Association will continue to nominate me for the Olympics,” she says, “until Tuesday it will be days full of tension for me, just as I know myself.” With the women’s national coach Claudiu Pusa she did not speak after the early World Cup. “I wouldn’t want to ask him now either,” said Scoccimarro.

Before the World Cup, everything was already clear to the young judo ace. Scoccimarro had everything in his own hands and must still tremble now. Your performance in Budapest wasn’t good enough. And competitor Butkereit triumphed too much in the final sprint. “I had the opportunity to capture it for myself and let it slip away,” says Scoccimarro. National coach Pusa now has it in hand.