Lukas KRPALEK (CZE/+100) is known as a reliable medal bank. The 33-year-old Czech has collected a total of 45 Seniors medals – most notably 2 Olympic gold medals (in two different weight classes: -100 in Rio, +100 in Tokyo), 5 World Championships medals (2 x gold – 1 x silver – 2 x bronze) and 6 European Championships medals (3-1-2). Thursday afternoon in Abu Dhabi, Lukas came away empty-handed, losing a (World Championships) bronze fight for the third time in his career (after 2015, 2018). A waza-ari score for Tamerlan BASHAEV (AIN) ultimately made the difference.
“I’m really tired. I trained very hard in Japan over the last two weeks. My aim is to be in top form for the Olympic Games in Paris. Abu Dhabi was just a stopover. I wasn’t ready today,” analysed Lukas Krpalek afterwards.
The World Championships – the last competition before Paris – only went Lukas’ way for the first nine (net) minutes of the competition. It took him that long to defeat Sascha INANEISHVILI (GEO), Vito DRAGIC (SLO) and former world champion Andy GRANDA (CUB) and reach the semi-final. With two ippon and two waza-ari scores. “After reaching the semi-final I thought a medal was possible. But in the end I lacked a bit of strength. It was close, but it wasn’t meant to be today.”
The final judgement will not be made for another 70 days – at the Olympics. “I’m on a short holiday with (wife) Eva in Abu Dhabi until Sunday. Then I’ll continue with my Olympic preparations. Firstly, athletics training at home in the Czech Republic, then (Judo) training camps in Porec and Tokyo. So that I’m 100 per cent ready on 2 August.”
The anticipation is slowly growing: “My family will be at the Olympics for the first time, Eva and the children. And I would like to have a final duel with Teddy Riner – I switched to heavyweight before Tokyo because of him, I wanted to fight him for gold. But it didn’t happen in 2021. Maybe in Paris, in the Champ de Mars arena…”
We’ll know more in 70 days.
Author: EJU Media