Kate CORKERY (AUS) has been President of the Oceania Judo Union and thus also IJF Vice President for about six months. From 2016 to 2021, the lawyer was President of the Australian Judo Federation. “They needed a gender equality and anti-doping specialist. I was initially an advisor, later I became president.”
Corkery never lost contact to Oceanian judo. “We are working on professionalising the structures and pooling the interests of the different countries. Only together can we develop sustainable success,” emphasises the mother of four. The long-term goal is the Olympic Games 2032 in Brisbane (AUS). “We want to be represented there with as large an Oceanic team of athletes as possible.
Around 10 Oceania judoka will be competing in Paris 2024. “What’s special is that Katharina Haecker (-63) and Aoife Coughlan (-70) two of our athletes will be seeded for the first time since Sydney 2000. That is an important signal!”
Corkery negotiated a close cooperation with the European Judo Union for junior tournaments. “This involves around 20 young athletes in the first year. We send them to Europe and make sure that they play as many tournaments and top-class training camps in as short a time as possible. That’s good for us and also for the European organising countries. A win-win situation, so to speak.”
Author: EJU Media