Maria Centracchio retires from competitive judo. The athlete from Molise, who at Tokyo Olympics won the bronze medal in the -63 kg categoryhas decided to interrupt her activity to dedicate herself to post-career work, which however will remain close to the tatami, embarking on a career as a coach.
The Italian, born in 1994, writes on her social channels: “My competitive career ends and the one on the other side of the fence begins, in small steps, with all the desire to give my best for others and to grow together with them, with dedication, study and as much attention as possible, always service of the Fiamme Oro”.
Then he adds: “It’s been a while, three years to be exact, since my last time on the competition mat, three years since I realized my biggest dream, leaving Tokyo with an Olympic medal around my neck. From that moment on, many things took a different shape: between these, judo has always remained my passion and my main goal, but the way of living it has changed. I continue to desire to achieve something important through judo, but something less tangible, less evident.”
“It’s not about – continues – about titles or medals, it’s not about me personally: it’s about seeing the happy and satisfied eyes of an athlete who makes progress, grows and reaches his goals, also thanks to my help; to know that you are a point of reference for those who want to reach the top; to provide these people with those things that I have missed and that I have learned to find and manage on my own”.
Finally Maria Centracchio concludes by saying: “As an athlete I learned that the only people we need to convince of our worth are ourselves, that working with heart and intelligence, sooner or later, always brings something good and that facts speak better than anything; so, always with the facts, I hope to build something beautiful for the path to come.”
