GERMANY: JUDO: Germany's Ole Bischof, the reigning under-81kg Olympic judo champion, says he will do his best to bring the title home again from London

Record ID: 331192

  • Title: GERMANY: JUDO: Germany's Ole Bischof, the reigning under-81kg Olympic judo champion, says he will do his best to bring the title home again from London
  • Date: 19th July 2012
  • Summary: GRUENHEIDE, GERMANY (JULY 11, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF DEFENDING OLYMPIC JUDO CHAMPION IN THE WEIGHT CLASS UP TO 81 KILOGRAMS, OLE BISCHOF TRAINING (SOUNDBITE) (German) DEFENDING OLYMPIC JUDO CHAMPION IN THE WEIGHT CLASS UP TO 81 KILOGRAMS, OLE BISCHOF, SAYING: "I am the reigning Olympic champion, if you can say it like that. And therefore a lot of people are watching me. But four years are a long time in fighting sports. I had to work hard to be back again. I wasn't nominated purely because of my Olympic victory. I worked hard by winning in Paris and in Duesseldorf. I managed to win a European medal in the last two years. I'm on a good path." BISCHOF TRAINING (SOUNDBITE) (German) DEFENDING OLYMPIC JUDO CHAMPION IN THE WEIGHT CLASS UP TO 81 KILOGRAMS, OLE BISCHOF, SAYING: "The Korean Kim Jae-Bum is now a double world champion that means that he won in Tokyo and in Paris in 2011. For me he is the big favourite. I feel like a hunter again." VARIOUS OF FEMALE JUDOKAS TRAINING WORLD VICE CHAMPION IN JUDO IN WEIGHT CLASS OVER 100 KILOGRAMS, ANDREAS TOELZER (SOUNDBITE) (German) WORLD VICE CHAMPION IN JUDO IN WEIGHT CLASS OVER 100 KILOGRAMS, ANDREAS TOELZER, SAYING: "Of course I won't travel to the Olympic Games and say that participating is everything, but I actually want to win a medal. And the shinier the medal the better for me." VARIOUS OF OLYMPIC PARTICIPANT HEIDE WOLLERT DOING MUSCLE TRAINING OLYMPIC PARTICIPANT KERSTIN THIELE DURING TRAINING VARIOUS OF OLYMPIC PARTICIPANT MIRYAM ROPER-YEARWOOD TALKING TO HER TRAINER (SOUNDBITE) (German) TRAINER OF THE GERMAN FEMALE JUDO TEAM, MICHAEL BAZYNSKI, SAYING: "I am very optimistic. We have a really great group which has come together really well. We support each other. We trainers are all friends, the athletes all work together and support each other. No one is jealous of the success of the others. In fact it is the exact opposite, everyone looks forward to every fight which our team members win. We are there for each other. And in my opinion that is a huge advantage for London." OLYMPIC PARTICIPANT CLAUDIA MALZAHN TALKING TO BAZYNSKI BELT BEING TIED (SOUNDBITE) (German) OLYMPIC JUDO PARTICIPANT, CLAUDIA MALZAHN, SAYING: "The field of participants in at the Olympic Games is very, very strong. That is obvious. On the day I just want to show my best judo and call on all my strength. And then we will see what happens." VARIOUS OF TEAM TRAINING VARIOUS OF TEAM POSING FOR GROUP PHOTO
  • Embargoed: 3rd August 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVADGW4GH3YANEXLEUMKDTD0O29K
  • Story Text: Reigning Olympic -81kg judo champion Ole Bischof, said he will be going into the London Games this summer with cautious optimism.
    Four years ago, Bischof, from southern Germany, won the gold medal in Beijing but said his success back then does not automatically make him favourite this time round.

    "I am the reigning Olympic champion, if you can say it like that. And therefore a lot of people are watching me. But four years are a long time in fighting sports. I had to work hard to be back again. I wasn't nominated purely because of my Olympic victory. I worked hard by winning in Paris and in Duesseldorf. I managed to win a European medal in the last two years. I'm on a good path," Bischof told Reuters TV at a training session outside the German capital.
    So far in 2012 Bischof has been able to hold his own against the world's judo elite, winning the Grand Prix in Duesseldorf. In 2011 he came third in the European Championships in Istanbul.
    But he said he knows which competitors to watch out for, including South Korean Kim Jae-Bum who defeated in the 2008 Olympic final.

    "The Korean Kim Jae-Bum is now a double world champion that means that he won in Tokyo and in Paris in 2011. For me he is the big favourite. I feel like a hunter again," he said.
    Bischoff, however, is not the only medal hopeful in the 11-man German judo team.
    If everything runs to plan, the five female members of the team will also have chances of winning. One of these ladies is Claudia Malzahn.

    "The field of participants in at the Olympic Games is vert very strong. That is obvious. On the day I just want to show my best judo and call on all my strength. And then we will see what happens," she said.
    And then there is team mate Andreas Toelzer who is second in the world in the over-100kg division.

    "Of course I won't travel to the Olympic Games and say that participating is everything, but I actually want to win a medal. And the shinier the medal the better for me," he said.
    Toelzer also competed in Beijing but did o't make it to the top eight then. But he has since worked hard on his body, packing on 13 kilograms and at 145 kilograms, is now a real heavyweight.
    Until the day the team leaves for London, they will continue training together at their camp outside Berlin.

    "I am very optimistic. We have a really great group which has come together really well," said the trainer of the women's team, Michael Bazynski.

    "We support each other. We trainers are all friends, the athletes all work together and support each other. No one is jealous of the success of the others. In fact it is the exact opposite, everyone looks forward to every fight which our team members win. We are there for each other. And in my opinion that is a huge advantage for London," he said.
    The Olympic Games run from July 27 until August 12. The judo competition kicks off on July 28 and will end on August 3.
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