Karate premieres at the Tokyo Olympics.
The 27-year-old Jasmin Jüttner wants to be there and still has a chance.
The chance of a lifetime.
Munich - She almost ended up at the ballet.
At the age of seven, Jasmin Jüttner wanted to take up a sport and "thought skirts were pretty cool." Since there was no ballet in the area, there was a contrast program: The father discovered an advertisement for karate in the local newspaper.
In any case, it fitted better into the family picture: Jüttner's parents, big fans of Bruce Lee, both used to do Taekwondo.
Now, 20 years later, Jüttner is one of the best in her trade: world champion in the team and multiple German champion in the individual.
Born in Aschaffenburg, she competes in the Kata discipline - a form of competition in which given movement patterns are demonstrated against imaginary opponents: “Kata can best be compared to a freestyle in gymnastics.
It's about the entire presentation, the look, the aesthetics, how you sell yourself. "
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And Jüttner wants her freestyle on the biggest stage in sport, the Olympic Games.
Karate will be Olympic for the first time in Tokyo and for the time being only.
Jüttner has not managed to qualify for the games using the points in the past two years.
So there is exactly one chance left: a qualifying tournament in Paris in June.
“The first three get the ticket for Tokyo, I want to be on top of the podium.
I deserve it, ”says Jüttner.
The 27-year-old completes five to six karate units and four athletic units a week.
There are also individual exercises for strength and speed.
Karateka works with mental trainer Tarek Amin and sports psychologist Sebastian Altfeld, and also uses visualization techniques for optimal competition preparation: “Karate is extremely challenging in terms of coordination.
You try to achieve a technical perfection, but it is unattainable.
Even if you train for 10 years, you can set different priorities every day. "
The corona crisis "would have hit me hard", but Jüttner can continue to concentrate on sport thanks to the support of the Bundeswehr.
From the athlete's point of view, her sport flies too much under the radar.
Whenever she showed friends karate, they were enthusiastic.
And of course the Olympics are a huge opportunity.
For this to happen, however, the drum has to be promoted properly: "Karate has not yet received the media attention it deserves."
Is it responsible?
I'm torn.
Jasmin Jüttner on the Olympic Games during a pandemic
Jüttner generally likes to think outside the box of her great passion.
She also thought for a long time about the usefulness of the Olympic Games during a pandemic: “Is it responsible?
I'm torn.
I sincerely hope that a safe concept for the games will be developed. "
In Paris, Jüttner first has to take the chance of a lifetime to be able to travel to Tokyo at all.
And of course we hope that the games can actually take place this summer this year.
"A cancellation would be disastrous for most athletes", Jüttner is certain, "especially for a sport like karate, which is only allowed to present itself once on the largest stage and is then removed from the program."
Text by Nico-Marius Schmitz
