Austrian headcoach Yvonne Boenisch extends contract with four years

Austrian head coach Yvonne Snir-Bönisch extended her contract by four years until after the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The Olympic champion U57kg in Athens in 2004, who has been working for Judo Austria since 2021 said: “I still have a lot of plans, we are on the right track.” The contract signing took place on Wednesday morning in the Olympic Center in Linz.

“Yvonne’s work is marked by successes. Within three years she has created a powerful team that regularly delivers at major events. The experiment of bringing in a woman as head coach was a complete success. No wonder that a number of nations, especially Germany, have recently sought the services of the 42-year-old,” said Martin Poiger happily. “We want to be represented at the Olympics with a mixed team and win medals again. Of course these are ambitious goals. But anyone who knows me knows that I always have high standards. It's fun to work with this team. When I came we only had two world-class athletes: Michaela Polleres and Shamil Borchashvili. Now there are at least five and the number is rising. The Olympic qualification is still running until mid-June, and we would currently also have qualified for Paris with the mixed team. I would have thought that was impossible a year ago,” said Yvonne Snir-Bönisch.

In nine days the Judo World Tour will be in the Tips Arena in Linz (Upper Austrian Grand Prix, March 8th - 10th, 567 judoka from 80 nations have registered). Snir-Bönisch: “For us, the home Grand Prix is an important location determination. We can compete with all the top aces. I hope for at least five medals!”