A window of opportunity for Judo champion

ISABELLE Kopecny threw her dad into a window, and broke it, on her way to representing Australia in judo.

Her dad, Rudy, was always talking about the Japanese martial art – and he had some stories to tell, having represented Croatia in the sport as a young man.

When the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games rolled around he took his daughter to see what judo was like at the highest level.

She loved it and, naturally, the loungeroom chairs got pushed out of the way to make room for a makeshift dojo.

“I misjudged the space and, yeah, threw him into the window,” said Isabelle.

Not long later her home was renovated to include a proper training area.

“Mum finally got her loungeroom back,” she said.

A little over a decade later, Kopecny, who is 19 and living on campus at Old Toongabbie’s Campion College, represents her country in the sport.

She is the Oceania champion in the under-78kg division.

Last week she returned home after a trip to Samoa, where she narrowly missed out on a bronze medal in the Judo World Cup.

“I enjoy the sport, even when you lose,” she said.

“It’s a very strategy-based sport. You’re using your opponents’ balance and strength against them, so it really depends on how your opponent is fighting to what you’re going to do,” she said.

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