AGAINST THE ODDS : BERNADETT BACZKO !
The BBC's Against the Odds series profiles athletes heading to the Olympics despite huge obstacles.
Nick Thorpe meets a Hungarian judoka who has returned to competition after a string of serious injuries - and a family tragedy.
Wherever you look in Bernadett Baczko's flat, there are signs of her profession.
Blue and white judo tunics hang drying on the balcony - her own, and those of her boyfriend, Laci.
There are photographs on the sofa, medals on the mantlepiece, and training shoes in the hall.
Laci cooks lunch while we talk in the living room.
It's a tiny flat, just 54 square metres, in Ujpest, a working-class suburb of Budapest, a stone's throw from the river Danube.
Nick Thorpe meets a Hungarian judoka who has returned to competition after a string of serious injuries - and a family tragedy.
Wherever you look in Bernadett Baczko's flat, there are signs of her profession.
Blue and white judo tunics hang drying on the balcony - her own, and those of her boyfriend, Laci.
There are photographs on the sofa, medals on the mantlepiece, and training shoes in the hall.
Laci cooks lunch while we talk in the living room.
It's a tiny flat, just 54 square metres, in Ujpest, a working-class suburb of Budapest, a stone's throw from the river Danube.
Bernadett Baczko
Competes in women's under 57kg category
Beat reigning Olympic champion in 2007 'Worlds'
In action on Monday 11 August from 0500 GMT
Tall poplar trees cushion the roar of the traffic from the main road which runs close to the building, funnelling commuters into the city.
Bernadett is relaxed on camera, full of pride in her achievements in her chosen sport, but there's no trace of arrogance.
"I began judo when I was nine, which turned out to be the ideal age for a girl, though I didn't know that at the time.
"I have three older brothers, and was brought up as a bit of a tomboy, but it was actually a friend, a classmate who first took me to a training session. I fell in love with it straight away."
Bernadett is taking no chances as she warms up for BeijingBernadett advanced in the sport with great strides, encouraged by all her family, but especially her mother.
She would come to all the competitions, and encouraged not only her daughter, but even Bernadett's rivals.
In 2002 Bernadett began winning international competitions. She narrowly failed to qualify for the Athens Olympics in 2004.
That was the year her "calvary", as she calls her suffering, began.
In August 2004, she and her team arrived late for a competition, and didn't have time to warm up.
In the very first match, I attempted a certain technique, and my leg got stuck. There was an awful pain in my right knee -Bernadett Baczko.
"In the very first match, I attempted a certain technique, and my leg got stuck. There was an awful pain in my right knee. But I took part in three more matches. I just didn't want to give up."
When she got home, her doctor could not understand how she managed to compete. The ligament in her right knee was torn.
In October that year, she was operated on.
"At about the same time, we found out that my mother had an incurable illness. She died in June 2005."
She relates how so many people mourned with her, in the Hungarian judo world as well.
Her mother's presence at matches had inspired many a young Hungarian judo hopeful.
Her funeral took place just as Bernadett was coming out of her 8 months forced retirement from judo, and was starting university in Budapest.
"In 2006 I started winning prizes again. But then I injured my other knee. Fortunately, it didn't need an operation."
Then in the spring of 2007, just as she was preparing for the World Championships in Rio, she contracted a serious stomach illness.
"This time, my coach assembled a whole team behind me - a doctor, a dietician, a psychologist..."
It paid off, and she won the bronze medal in Rio. And that is how she qualified for Beijing.
She shows the medal proudly. I study it carefully, but there's no text.
"If you hold it up to the light, you can tell its bronze...not gold or silver' she laughs.
Rio marked for her the end of the tunnel.
"It took me three years to come to terms with the loss of my mother, and with all the injuries...only now can I talk about these things without crying." And her voice barely quavers.
We race across town to the next training session - and arrive late, because of the interview.
But ahead of Beijing, she's taking no chances, and starts warming up straight away.
"It is an individual sport, but I'm lucky to be part of a really good, young team.
"We support one another hugely, which is very important, and will be decisive in the Olympics too. You could say we're even more excited for one another than we are for our own matches.
"And I think that's quite unusual."
In the very first match, I attempted a certain technique, and my leg got stuck. There was an awful pain in my right knee -Bernadett Baczko.
"In the very first match, I attempted a certain technique, and my leg got stuck. There was an awful pain in my right knee. But I took part in three more matches. I just didn't want to give up."
When she got home, her doctor could not understand how she managed to compete. The ligament in her right knee was torn.
In October that year, she was operated on.
"At about the same time, we found out that my mother had an incurable illness. She died in June 2005."
She relates how so many people mourned with her, in the Hungarian judo world as well.
Her mother's presence at matches had inspired many a young Hungarian judo hopeful.
Her funeral took place just as Bernadett was coming out of her 8 months forced retirement from judo, and was starting university in Budapest.
"In 2006 I started winning prizes again. But then I injured my other knee. Fortunately, it didn't need an operation."
Then in the spring of 2007, just as she was preparing for the World Championships in Rio, she contracted a serious stomach illness.
"This time, my coach assembled a whole team behind me - a doctor, a dietician, a psychologist..."
It paid off, and she won the bronze medal in Rio. And that is how she qualified for Beijing.
She shows the medal proudly. I study it carefully, but there's no text.
"If you hold it up to the light, you can tell its bronze...not gold or silver' she laughs.
Rio marked for her the end of the tunnel.
"It took me three years to come to terms with the loss of my mother, and with all the injuries...only now can I talk about these things without crying." And her voice barely quavers.
We race across town to the next training session - and arrive late, because of the interview.
But ahead of Beijing, she's taking no chances, and starts warming up straight away.
"It is an individual sport, but I'm lucky to be part of a really good, young team.
"We support one another hugely, which is very important, and will be decisive in the Olympics too. You could say we're even more excited for one another than we are for our own matches.
"And I think that's quite unusual."
BBC NEWS REPORT.
Labels: Olympic-Games Beijing Medal Rio Judo Training Odds Team Loss Knee
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