“It has been a challenging year and one that is so unique and unlike anything that anybody will have ever experienced and may never experience again.”
Chelsie Giles makes her Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games on Sunday. Giles is seeded 7th after a series of impressive performances in 2021.
“I am really looking forward to stepping onto the mat again and competing at the home of judo. My coach and I will sit down ahead of my competition and analyse the draw, but ultimately, I will take each fight as it comes.”
Drawn in Pool C, Giles will face Arbresha Rexhepi (MKD) in the opening round. Rexhepi is the lowest ranked fighter to have qualified in the -52kg weight category and is ranked 252nd in the world rankings.
Contest Number: 9
Approximate 1st Round time: 3:35am
Approximate 2nd Round time: 4:25am (Contest 19)
Approximate Quarter Final time: 4:40am (Contest 24)
Competing in the Nippon Budokan will come as no shock to Giles who competed at the 2019 World Championships, where she finished 7th.
Speaking about there not being any fans in the iconic stadium, Giles said:
“The 2019 World Championships were amazing, competing in front of the home crowd, but we are fully prepared for no crowds. I love coming to Japan, training in Japan and competing in Japan. I am here to do a job and despite there being no crowd, it is going to be a special experience and one I am really looking forward to.
“The Japanese public are extremely knowledgeable about judo and regardless of your nationality, they will always cheer for you and respect the art of judo.”
This will be the second time Giles will have competed at a multi-sport competition:
“I represented Team GB at the European Games in 2019. I am really enjoying being in this environment where we can access world class facilities to ensure we are in the best shape possible when we go out to compete.”
The action gets underway with the Preliminaries starting at 3:00am (BST) daily.
Victory Ceremonies will start around 11:30am (BST)
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British Judo will bring you a recap of how all your British fighters perform each day and you can follow the action on the British Judo social media channels.
