Judo in the time of Covid-19: Carola Paissoni

Another Italian in our series how the judoka deal with the current coronacrisis. Italian judoka Carola Paissoni was in a lock-down for a long period and finally there is some space to breath. The multiple Italian champion U70kg still finds such joy in putting on her judogi, but was limited for the last few months. Her family helped her to get through this period. She was one of the last medallists this year at an Olympic qualifier in Warsaw. JudoCrazy’s Oon Yeoh asked her all about her judo and her teammates in Torino.

JIC: How’s the Covid-19 situation where you’re at?

CP: I live in Torino, in the northwest of Italy. Our region is not as badly affected by Covid-19 as other places but of course there is a lock-down as well. The situation is gradually improving. We can now do some outdoor exercises as long as we maintain social distancing but there won’t be any judo for some time to come.

JIC: What type of training are you doing at home?

CP: I'm doing judo circuits and physical preparation. I’m also doing a lot of yoga. It’s a wonderful discipline that allows me to work on flexibility and strength at the same time, giving me an increased range of motion which I find useful for judo.

JIC: How have you been spending your time when you are not training?

CP: I try to program my day in order to train, of course. But I also try to push ahead with my studies because when things go back to normal, I won't have as much time for that. I love cooking with my grandma and with my mom. I spend a lot of time with my young sister, Christel, who is my partner-in-crime.

JIC: How old is Christel? Is she a judoka too?

CP: She'll be 13 soon. She is not a judoka, she does athletics. My older brother is a judoka and he is now a national referee. Maybe we will see each other at the Olympics someday!

JIC: Your name is Carola but on social media, you use Carolina. Why is that?

CP: That's my nickname that my family members like to call me by, especially my grandmother. It means "Little Carola" but as a -70kg player, I'm anything but little. I guess it's their way to make fun of me!

JIC: Which club do you belong to?

CP: My judo club is Akiyama Settimo and it is in Torino. Our coach is Pierangelo Toniolo, and with his brother Massimo Toniolo, they’ve built a top-notch club for our country. It’s the same club of Fabio Basile, Manuel Lombardo and Nicholas Mungai. I love training there.

JIC: Do you ever randori with the strong guys like Lombardo, for example?

CP: At my club we all train together, boys and girls, but I very seldom do randori with Lombardo. I think he needs a stronger partner than me. But I have many suitable partners to train with. We have many national and European medallists — cadets, juniors, seniors — so it’s really good for me. It’s very inspiring to have so many strong athletes around me.

JIC: Do you also train at the national training centre?

CP: I usually train at my club but we sometimes go to the Olympic Training Centre in Rome. I’ve also been to France to train at Sucy Judo. That’s the club that Axel Clerget is with. Training at different places and with different partners keeps things interesting.

JIC: In some countries, centralized training is required of top athletes but it sounds like in Italy, the top players are in different places?

CP: In Italy, the national team trains together but not all the time. So, club training is also important. There are many strong clubs in Italy.

JIC: What makes you want to compete?

CP: The sensations I feel on the competition mat are unique. It is a mixture of feelings which are difficult to describe. What I can say is that it’s exactly the place I want to be whenever I step on the competition mat.

JIC: Are you a full-time judoka, meaning you don’t have any other jobs?

CP: I am in the Italian army. All top-level athletes in Italy are placed under military teams. As it is not easy to get sponsors in Italy, this arrangement allows us to train full time. So, my job is to train but I’m also studying at the university to become an interpreter.

JIC: So, that’s why your English is so good. What other languages do you speak?

CP: I also speak French, which is my favorite language, and Spanish. I will learn Romanian in September, as part of my university studies. I would like to study many other languages, so maybe I will do this in the future.

JIC: Do you plan to work as an interpreter after you retire from competition?

CP: Possibly. I'm in the army so I will probably stay there after I retire from competition, and make full use of what I’m studying at the university. But to be honest, I’m not really thinking about that right now. My focus at the moment is on my judo career.

JIC: You’ve been competing since junior level in 2011. Looking back, what are your thoughts about your journey so far?

CP: Judo is like a friend, a close one. We’ve been through many ups and downs together but it’s been a great journey so far and we’ve got a long way to go still.

JIC: You have a domestic rival in Alice Bellandi, who had qualified for the Olympics prior to the lock-down. Have you fought her before and does the postponement for one year mean you have a new chance to qualify for the Olympics?

CP: So far, I've fought her three times — twice at the national championships and once at an international event — and I won on all three occasions, but she is very strong now. She has improved a lot and recently, she has done better than I did in international competitions. But the Olympic postponement may be an opportunity for me. We shall see.

JIC: You are 25 right now, still relatively young. How long do you see yourself competing?

CP: I don’t know. I don’t want to set an artificial deadline for myself. I will keep doing this as long as I find joy in putting on my competition judogi.

JIC: How would you describe what judo means to you?

CP: Judo is a mix of many things for me. It’s my passion, my mission, my profession. But if I had to describe it in one word, I’d have to use the Japanese word ikigai, which means "reason for being".

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