Carolyne Lepage’s judo swan song

Judoka Carolyne Lepage has nothing to hide: the Athens Olympic Games will be her last ones. It just might be her last competition on the international scene. It’s hard to believe, but she is very certain of her decision. « I didn’t change my mind. I’ve been competing in the 48 kg category for a long while, and the competition gets harder every year.

This represents a lot of sacrifices. At 29 years old, it’s time for me to have pleasure in life. It’s obvious that I have practicing judo, but I also must face reality: maintaining my weight is too difficult, so I don’t have much of a choice, » Lepage said.

Why retire when she could simply move to a different category that requires more weight ?
« For the 52 kg category, I’ll have adjustments to make. First of all, this is four years of life, and you don’t want to take the place of someone who wants to reach the Olympic Games. By changing categories, I would also lose my status as a certified athlete, since I wouldn’t have any points in the rankings. I think it would be good timing to finish my career at the Games. I’m ready to live with that, », added Lepage.

Will she be able to leave judo for good?
« No, I’ll continue training for at least one year. I’ll try and help youngsters and serve as a training partner, but I don’t think I’ll compete in international events after the Games. Anyhow, as soon as I wouldn’t have my mind focused on competitions, I’ll be gone. I’m not in there just to participate. I won’t take someone’s place in international events just for the pleasure of traveling.

« Maybe I’ll stay in touch with the sport, who knows? Before, I would have said no way! Now, I’m thinking of the possibility to become a trainer. However, I want to finish school and fully concentrate on my career, », said Lepage, who is computer analyst.

« I’ve been doing in that domain for five years. I take care of networking for a biotechnology company. My employer has always been comprehensive regarding my training and competitions schedules. They never got in my way when I had to leave for along period of time. »

A computer analyst? Very difficult to figure that this fighter who ruled her category for 10 years is a computer whiz.
« I’m not a geek with glasses and pens coming out of my pocket, Lepage laughed. I’m good at solving problems. But don’t count on me to hack into a computer, I don’t even know how to do that. Computers is considered as work, while others consider it a passion. My passion is judo. »

Classified 17th at the 1996 Summer Games and absent from Sydney in 2000 after a knee operation, she promises herself to keep the best souvenirs of her presence in Athens.
« In Atlanta, I didn’t really appreciate my Olympic experience. My competition was on the same day that all the judo events ended, so I had to wait for seven days to get on the mat. Maybe it is the fact that I was younger and we tend to not appreciate things in life at that point. In Athens, my events will take place a few hours after the opening ceremonies, so I won’t be attending. I promise myself a blast after that. As soon as I’m done fighting, I’ll become the official cheerleader of the Canadian judo team. Prepare yourselves to hear me scream in the stand.

« You can be sure that I will enjoy my Games at the very fullest, » concluded Lepage, who won gold at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester, and two silver medals at the 1995 and 2003 Pan American Games.