Tuesday, 30 July 2024 / Paris 2024
A few minutes ago, Austro-British Lubjana Piovesana lost the bronze final against two-time Olympic champion and six-time world champion Clarisse Agbegnenou with Ippon.
Nevertheless, the 27-year-old has a smile on her face. You can see the relief on her face.
“Of course I’m disappointed that I didn’t win bronze. Especially because it’s my third bronze final (after the 2023 World Championships and the 2024 European Championships) without a medal. That’s annoying. And I’m annoyed that I lost the quarter-finals. Losing in the duel for bronze against someone like Clarisse doesn’t really blow me away.”
Mental training works
The relief comes from the second-round fight against her former teammate Lucy Renshall.
“The fact that I was able to win this fight makes me proud. It closes a chapter that was more than unpleasant. She and her trainer were part of the bullying case in the British Federation – that affected me directly. In the last few days, I have received a lot of messages on my cellphone about the possible Piovesana vs. Renshall duel. I tried not to read them at all. It was a fight that was particularly mentally demanding. I’m not usually good when the pressure is high. I have to learn that first, I lack competition experience. But the mental training of the last few weeks is starting to pay off. I think that can no longer be denied, at least since today – and that’s a good feeling.”
Great success
Head coach Yvonne Snir-Bönisch sees her protégé’s fifth place as a great success. “It cannot be valued highly enough to finish fifth in the European Championships, World Championships and Olympics within 18 months – after a two-year break – and to win two Grand Slam titles. Lubjana will give us a lot of joy in the coming years.”
2024-07-31 06:34:49
#Fight #bullying #Austrian #Olympic #Committee
