Interview with judo athlete, Natalie Powell!
The Commonwealth Games are being hosted by England this year and Birmingham is the host city. The Commonwealth Games is a major sporting tournament in which countries who form part of the Commonwealth take part. In this tournament, the countries that make up Great Britain compete separately rather than together – there’s a lot of rivalry between England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales!
The games include many sports and events that you will see in other sporting tournaments such as the Olympics and Paralympics, but also other sports such as squash and netball. A Commonwealth title is highly prized, making the Games a great sporting spectacle.
Judo is a sport included in the Commonwealth Games but normally, it doesn’t receive a lot of media coverage. We caught up with former world number one judoka Natalie Powell to hear about her sporting career but before that, here’s some info on judo.
Judo is a martial art which originated in Japan in the 1800s. Its founder, Kano, wanted a method of self-defence but without the need for physical strength or combat. He removed the combative parts and ‘improved the art of falling’*. Women have been practising judo since it began so it’s a great sport for you to try!
Welsh Natalie Powell started was a sporty little girl. She liked wrestling with her dad and heard about a judo class so went along with some classmates. She also liked playing netball, tennis, and athletics, and admits that judo wasn’t her favourite sport!
She started competing soon after starting. Sometimes she was knocked out first round which was disheartening for her but sometimes she medalled, which she loved, especially when her name was called out in assemblies for her judo success. The medals and trophies kept her interested in judo, even when she was playing other sports.
Slowly, slowly, she started giving up her other hobbies, although it was a tough decision choosing between judo and playing netball for Wales. The fact that she could go to the National Championships (which she’d never won …but subsequently did) persuaded her to choose judo and in her early 20s, she started to see judo as her career.
Being crowned the best in the world was a career highlight but she also recognises the importance of her team. She recalls the 2019 Grand Prix in Tel Aviv, Israel as a career highlight too: Natalie was happy in life and surrounded by her fantastic support team who can’t always attend competitions. Natalie won which just goes to show the role feeling happy and content plays in sporting achievements.
Natalie will be competing for Wales at the Commonwealth Games – in 2014 she won a gold medal; can she do it again? She seemed pretty happy to me ….
* Taken from the International Judo Federation website
This piece was previously featured in bsporty magazine.