Daniela Krukower turns judo formbook on its head

In a tournament of shocks and surprises, one of the biggest was the brilliant victory of Daniela Krukower in the women’s under 63kg category. For so long it was a category dominated by the same few stars but in Osaka the formbook was turned completely on its head. And out of the melee rose Krukower to record a stunning victory with an ippon victory against the former Olympic champion Driulis Gonzalez of Cuba.

“I feel really great,” said Krukower through a beaming smile. “It has not sunk in yet but I am enjoying the attention. Somewhere in my mind I knew I could win because I knew I could surprise anyone and beat anyone. But this is judo, you can win and you can lose.” When the Argentine lined up in the final against Gonzalez she knew she had a chance. It was only a month since their last meeting in the final of the Pan-American Games where Krukower came within a whisker of victory. She said: “I was confident that time as well but now knowing her better and knowing that I can do it made me feel more comfortable and confident.”

That was not the way she was feeling at the end of her semi-final against Italy’s Ylenia Scapin, though. The former Israeli athlete who only switched to Argentina four years ago actually thought she lost. It made for an exciting finale to the contest as both fighters surged forward in desperation for a winning score to turn the fight around. Krukower admitted: “I thought I had lost when I finished. I had looked at the board earlier and thought I was losing the whole time. At the end I was trying to get some points. I remember with four seconds left I thought I had lost and I tried to grab her legs. She did the same and I thought she was crazy! When you are winning you try to get away and it is only the one who is losing who tries to grab the legs. It was only after the finish when I heard people shouting my name and I looked at the scoreboard that I realised I won”

Having achieved a lifetime ambition and won the world title, Daniela was then looking forward to the medal ceremony. But she cannot decide which feeling was better, winning or collecting the gold medal. She said: “When you score ippon you are caught in the moment and the emotion is so great. But on the podium you think about the whole competition. It is different.” Despite her upbringing in Israel she was still proud to listen to the Argentine national anthem on the podium. But she says her rise to the top has been more difficult since she left Israel. “The level in Argentina is not as high as when I was in Israel because I was in Europe and could train in European competitions. But this year I had the opportunity to have a scholarship from Olympic Solidarity and it helped me a lot. It helped me to go to Europe and practise there.”

“When I first moved to Argentina I went to Europe and did very well and got good results. I won medals in three A tournaments but after that I did not go out there as much and I was injured so I did not get the results. But I have competed in so many European tournaments this year that I could go out a do better. But it is also important to feel stable. If you cannot feel stable in your home club you cannot go outside and do well. Really you need both.” Krukower got both this year and was able to realise her potential. It was a victory that gives hope to many other fighters in South America that they may be able to follow in her footsteps and also reach the pinnacle of their sport. South America will be hoping that this is just a springboard.