SA judoka Whitebooi wants to go all the way in Paris after early Tokyo exit

Geronay Whitebooi’s Olympic debut at the Tokyo showpiece lasted two minutes and seven seconds, but at Paris 2024 the judoka is looking to push into medal contention.

Three years ago she had the misfortune of being drawn against then world champion Paula Pareto of Argentina, who won the fight early with an ippon.

“I am much more prepared than what I felt for Tokyo,” said the 48kg fighter who won Commonwealth Games gold at Birmingham 2022.

“I think I’ve matured a lot more in the sport and I’ve learnt a lot from my mistakes. I know for these Games, it’s more mental preparation than physical.”

She has been working with Cameroonian coach Rene Ndoumbe in Gaborone for about a year and eight months, and believes the switch has worked well for her.

“I feel like when you have to accept someone so late in the [cycle] of qualifying, the job he did to get me to qualify was massive,” said Whitebooi, who grew up in Booysens Park in Gqeberha.

“To keep me positive because I wasn’t at a great place mentally and I feel like he built me mentally to become strong again to be able to qualify.”

After the Commonwealth Games Whitebooi went to Budapest on a judo scholarship at a centre set up by the international federation, but trying to make her way on her own was too much and she headed home.

“It wasn’t for me. I thought I would enjoy it and I would learn, but I only felt like it was physically and mentally draining me.

“I would rather be at home with people who give me positive vibes and train hard than be at a place where I’m training, but I feel like I’m literally dying inside.”

Whitebooi said she wasn’t the only athlete to leave early.

“It’s very difficult to be there, specially when you go alone. I went without my coach, I went without a training partner. It was literally just me. I had to get training partners there and had to adjust to a new coach and his programme. It was difficult.”

Whitebooi, who finished her internal auditing studies at Tuks in 2022, said her training had changed a lot under Ndoumbe.

“I’ve been working a lot on my mental side, which is preparing me. I see a psychologist, but it’s also not really about the psychology, it’s the mental preparation that he does with me on the judo mat that is different,” said Whitebooi, who is known to her friends as Michaela, her second name.

Her first name, Geronay, is reserved for judo.