Raffaella Imbriani (born 24 January 1973 in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the German States of Germany, state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital o ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

) is a German

judoka is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo") ...

who competed in the women's half-lightweight category. She held five German senior titles in her own division, picked up a total of thirty-five medals in her career, including four from major international tournaments ( European and

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

), and represented

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

in the 52-kg class at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Imbriani also trained for Judo Club Ettlingen and then Judo League in

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 square ...

under her personal coach and

sensei Sensei, Seonsaeng, Tiên sinh or Xiansheng, corresponding to Chinese characters , is an East Asian honorific term shared in Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese; it is literally translated as "person born before another" or "one who ...

Wolfgang Zuckschwerdt. Imbriani reached the pinnacle of her sporting career at the

2001 World Judo Championships The 2001 World Judo Championships were the 22nd edition of the World Judo Championships, and were held at Olympiahalle in Munich, Germany in 2001. Medal overview Men Women Medal table Results overview Men 60 kg 66 kg 73 kg 81 k ...

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

, where she picked up a silver in the 52-kg division, losing shamefully to North Korean judoka and 1996 Olympic champion Kye Sun-hui in front of her home crowd. Two years later, she shared bronze medals with Japan's

Yuki Yokosawa is a female judoka in Japan. She was born in Maebashi, Gunma. History She started judo when she was an elementary school student, influenced by her brother and father. Prizes She has won many prizes at Judo events all over the world. *Women's ...

in the same division at the

2003 World Judo Championships The 2003 World Judo Championships were the 23rd edition of the World Judo Championships, and were held in Osaka, Japan 11–15 September 2003. On the last day of competition, team events were held, as France won the men's team event and Japan wo ...

Osaka, Japan is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, which guaranteed her a spot on the German judo squad for her major Olympic debut. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

, Imbriani qualified for the German squad in the women's half-lightweight class (52 kg), by placing third from the

. Imbriani got off to a firm start with convincing victories over U.S. judoka Charlee Minkin and the host nation Greece's Maria Tselaridou in the prelims, before she succumbed to a waza-ari awasete ippon hold from China's

Xian Dongmei Xian Dongmei (; born 15 September 1975 in Sihui, Zhaoqing, Guangdong) is a female Chinese Judoka who competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Olympics. A Hakka The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Ha ...

with only forty-five seconds in the time limit during their quarterfinal match. Imbriani gave herself a chance for an Olympic bronze medal in the repechage round, but fell short to Algeria's

Salima Souakri Salima Souakri (born 6 December 1974) is an Algerian judoka who competed at four Olympic Games. She finished in joint fifth place in the extra-lightweight (48 kg) division at the 1996 Summer Olympics, having lost the bronze medal match to Y ...

, who threw her off the

tatami A is a type of mat used as a flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. Tatamis are made in standard sizes, twice as long as wide, about 0.9 m by 1.8 m depending on the region. In martial arts, tatami are the floor used for train ...

with a solid grip and a

waza-ari is the second highest score a fighter can achieve in a Japanese martial arts '' ippon'' or ''waza-ari'' contest, usually judo, karate or jujutsu. ''Waza-ari'' in judo A ''waza-ari'' is the second highest score a fighter can achieve in judo, t ...

hold forty seconds before their match ended.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Imbriani, Raffaella 1973 births Living people German female judoka Olympic judoka of Germany Judoka at the 2004 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Karlsruhe 20th-century German women 21st-century German women