World bronze medallist Juul Franssen retires

Dutch judoka Juul Franssen has decided to end her career. She will focus on her social career. The 32-year-old Franssen captured two bronze medals at World Championships and competed at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo where she finished fifth. Now, a year later, she has finally made the decision. "I will always continue to play sports, I could have continued until the Games in Paris," Franssen explains. "But then I would not necessarily be happy. My own happiness is also important. In recent years I have ignored that."

Juul Franssen started at the judo mat as a five-year-old and practiced her favorite sport for 27 years. Franssen won two Grand Slams and a Grand Prix, the first edition of the Grand Prix in The Hague which was one of her career highlights.

She took various Dutch titles as a cadet U17 years, junior U20 years and as a senior both in her first category U57kg as well as the U63kg division.

She took European titles in the same divisions, for cadets in 2006, as a junior in 2008 and U23 in 2012 followed by the European team title in 2013. However her best team highlight was without a doubt the world title with the Dutch women’s team in 2010 in Turkey.

The fifth place, last year at the Games in Japan, turned out to be the end point. Also the end of a process that was started in 2017 with a lawsuit to break free from the training policy of the judo association. After the Rio Games in 2016, this determined that judokas had to train full-time in Papendal. Franssen couldn't agree with that. She ended up outside the national selection for over a year and had to do without international competitions.

Franssen was eventually ruled in the right by the judge and was therefore allowed to follow her own trajectory, which included training in both Rotterdam and at the national training center in Papendal. In the end, she just missed bronze in Tokyo. Perhaps the biggest sporting disappointment of her career.

Franssen now chooses for herself and her environment. Looking for new social challenges. Perhaps in the distant future she might transfer her experience to new talents.