Judoka Barbara Timo said on Tuesday that being eliminated from the 2024 Paris Olympics in the 63kg weight class was “very tough”, admitting it will be very difficult to put on a gi again and think about Los Angeles 2028.
“I don’t know. First of all, I think it will take many days for this sadness to go away. And then the desire to put on the gi again will come… I know it will take some time,” Timo admitted after losing to South Korean Jisoo Kim by ippon in his first bout.
Visibly moved and with tears in her eyes, Barbara Timo recalled that it was “a life of sacrifice, a life of travel, a life away from family, trauma and uncertainty.”
“From the moment it occurred to me that I wanted to go to Los Angeles. [2028]I noticed. But now I just need some time and space, because it was very difficult to get here, and it’s very sad to end like this,” he admitted.
In her second Olympic Games, Barbara Timo admitted that it was “very hard” for her to lose like that because of the way she prepared, as “it was a lot of work, a lot of doubts, some moments” when she thought “it would be possible.”
“But I came here confident, I know that at the Olympics everything is possible, and I came with the belief that I was going to create my opportunities. The victory gave me confidence to achieve great results earlier, and it also makes me lose like that on the other side, because there on the mat we are all equal,” he said.
As for the fight, she said “everything was fine until I got immobilized” in a “tough fight” in which she “didn’t feel tired at all.”
The Portuguese judoka, who lost by immobilization (osaekomi) with just seconds left, leaves her second Olympic Games with a worse performance than she had at Tokyo 2020, when she competed in the -70kg weight class and had two matches.
Regarding the presence of Thelma Monteiro, invited by the Portuguese Olympic Committee (COP), Timo says that “it’s very good.”
“Every day I think of the positive side,” he concluded.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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