Bronze in Tokyo, Cargnin reinvents himself and changes category for a new medal

Bronze medalist at the Tokyo Olympics, judoka Daniel Cargnin, 25, says he made the hardest decision of his entire career in January last year.

Just five months after the victory over the Israeli Baruch Shmailov in the Nippon Budokan, which assured him an improbable medal at that time, the gaucho announced a change in category: from medium-lightweight (up to 66 kg) to lightweight (up to 73 kg).

There were no certainties. Hitting the weight just got easier. But the stature and physical strength of the opponents, in general taller and stronger than the 1.68 m Brazilian, caused difficulty.

The gold medal won last December 21 at the Judo World Masters, held in Jerusalem, represented a relief.

“I was doubtful for some time whether I had made the right decision,” he told Sheet. “Today, I’m much happier, thinking about myself and not trying to see what others are doing. I believe that, as a result, I’m finding my best version on the mat and off it too.”

The best version has the collaboration of a nutritionist and a psychologist.

Three years before winning in Japan, the athlete resorted to another help, the technique Yuku Fujii, in order not to give up his career. The emotional embrace between the two moments after the fight that secured bronze in 2021 was one of the striking images of the competition.

“I remember one time in 2018, in Italy. I was really bad. I was being beaten a lot in training. One day I got to the room, turned on the shower and started crying in the shower. I wanted to give up. But I took a break and sensei said: ‘I’ll meet you on the mat later, later we’ll train again’. When I awarded the medal and looked at her, I remembered that moment”, he said at the time.

After the weight change, Cargnin fell prematurely in his first competition: defeat in the round of 16 of the Grand Slam in Paris, still in the round of 16, to the Japanese Soichi Hashimoto.

Things only started to clear up in July, at the Grand Prix in Zagreb, days after a defeat in the first round of the Grand Slam in Budapest. He left the competition with bronze.

“I celebrated there as if it were the Olympics because it was a sign that things would work out. Sometimes, you just need to be patient,” he said.

The choice that now proves to be the right one refers to one of the main ones he already made, right in his childhood, while reconciling judo with soccer training at Grêmio’s schools.

His mother, Ana Rita, the main supporter, gave him the freedom to choose one of the sports. She made a kind of schedule of competitions for her son by herself before taking him to Sogipa, a club that the athlete defends until today.

“She was as surprised as I was. [pela mudança de categoria]. After all, I had been fighting at 66 kg for a long time. These results give me more courage and hope to prepare well and bring another medal at the Olympic Games in Paris”, she said.

The victory in the last competition of 2022 caused the judoka to rise in the first year in the new category to fifth place in the IJF (International Judo Federation) world ranking.

There were 14 positions conquered, evolution that no other athlete had in the season. The second best in Brazil in the category is Eduardo Barbosa, who occupies the 87th position.

Cargnin also won a bronze medal at the Worlds, held in October in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and another gold, at the Open de Córdoba, Argentina, in November.

Gold at the Masters was like validation of the choice. Daniel beat Georgian Lasha Shavdatuashvili, number one in the ranking, in the round of 16, and even ended a decade-long drought without gold medals for Brazilian men’s judo in the competition – the last one had been with Rafael Silva, in 2012, in Almaraty.

“The fight against the Georgian was a turning point for me to see how my level was and actually made me enter the competition”, he reported.

The classification for Paris-2024 will be based on the ranking. Cargnin is in good shape to get his seat and is confident of a new podium.

“I feel more mature and I learned a lot with each victory and each defeat. I believe that today I have a better idea of ​​what I’m going to face and I’ve had some experiences that can make me go far. In 2023, my goal is a medal at the Worlds to achieve my spot for the Olympics.”