Three returning Olympians will take to the tatami at the Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris, hoping to deliver Australia’s first Olympic Judo medal since Sydney 2000.
Katharina Haecker (W-63kg) returns for her third consecutive Olympics. After an incredible 18 months of results that includes four Grand Slam medals and two PanAmerican Oceania Championships Golds, Katharina will head to Paris seeded 5th in the W-63kg event.
Katharina is much happier with her preparation and form leading into Paris, compared to Tokyo. “Going into Paris I feel a lot better prepared than last time. In the lead up for Tokyo, I was recovering from a knee injury I had surgery on. I was chasing to recover and get back to form and couldn’t really enjoy the process and the excitement of preparing for the Olympics. This time around, I‘m in great form and ready to put it all on the line.”
“I think I proved to myself over the last three years that I‘m good enough to beat anyone in the world. I got the experience and confidence now to back myself”, said Katharina.
Aoife Coughlan (W-70kg) has enjoyed a similar level of recent success on the IJF World Tour to Katharina, winning four Grand Slam medals and, her personal favourite, Gold at the 2023 Portugal Grand Prix.
“My biggest achievement over the past 2 years was probably winning Gold at the Portugal Grand Prix. [It] was my first Gold medal on the IJF World Tour and it kick-started the best year of results I’ve ever had.”
“This time around, I feel much better prepared for Paris. I’ve had a lot of fighting experience at the highest level over the past two years where I’ve shown that I can win medals and beat some of the best in my division on any given day”, said Aoife.
Katharina speaks highly of Aoife and the role they have played in each other’s successes. “Sharing this insane dream with someone who works just as hard as you and pushes everyday to become a little bit better is a real advantage. Aoife definitely played a big role in my performances during this Olympic cycle and I would like to say I had a positive impact on her too. Sharing a podium finish in Kazakhstan [Grand Slam] last year has been one of my career highlights and I hope we can repeat this in Paris”, said Katharina.
While Aoife and Katharina have occupied direct Olympic qualification positions for majority if the qualification period, the journey for Josh Katz (M-60kg) to his second Games couldn’t have been more turbulent. The Rio 2016 Olympian missed out on Tokyo, suffered a broken leg in September 2022, had shoulder surgery in March 2023 and tore his ACL as recently as January 2024. This string of significant injuries made qualifying for Paris incredibly difficult, but an even bigger achievement once selected.
Josh secured his qualification only one month ago after winning silver at the African Open in Ivory Coast, claiming Australia’s final quota place.
“It was a massive relief of emotion when my qualification was finally secured. There had been so much uncertainty about whether or not I would even be healthy enough to compete, so when it was all done I don’t think I’ve ever felt so happy.”
“All of the setbacks and obstacles gave me so much belief that if I was able to get through and get my ticket to Paris, anything would be possible at the Games.”
Although Josh suffered an ACL injury at the beginning of the year, he returned to competition in April at the PanAmerican Oceania Championships, where he finished 5th.
Asked about what will be different in Paris compared to his first Olympics, Josh said he is “definitely a few years wiser than the 18 year old that walked into Rio!”
“Of course there’s a big physical improvement since 2016, but I think the biggest difference for me in Paris is the belief that I have now, knowing that regardless of who I fight or whatever is thrown at me, I’ll be prepared and ready to win when it matters on the day”, said Josh.
Aoife and Katharina are finalising their Olympic preparations in Europe, currently in Denmark after participating at an international camp in Spain. They will head to Hungary in a few days where they’ll rendezvous with Josh, who has been training in Sydney, before entering the Olympic Village on July 20th.
Competition Dates:
| Athlete | Division | Date |
| Josh Katz | M-60kg | July 27th |
| Katharina Haecker | W-63kg | July 30th |
| Aoife Coughlan | W-70kg | July 31st |
