Nefeli Papadakis | ijf.org
Nefeli Papadakis | ijf.org
Even after dropping her preliminary 78kg judo competition match at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Team USA star Nefeli Papadakis still seems to feel she's in a can’t-lose situation.
In the days before the games officially commenced, Papadakis raved about how proud she felt to have made it this far and to be of representing Team USA, adding “The journey to get here has been an absolute roller coaster of emotions and I’m glad to have finally achieved one of my life long goals.”
Papadakis said being coached by her father, Steve, for as long as she can remember has only served to make her experiences in the sport that much more enjoyable.
“He emigrated from Greece to the United States to attend college and in the summer of 2003 decided to get his children involved in the sport he had grown to love,” the Gurnee, Illinois, resident told the Chicago Tribune.
Papadakis said her grandfather also loved the sport and always seemed to find a way to be front and center at her events and competitions.
“He is one of my biggest inspirations to make it to the Olympics because that is one thing we always talked about when I was a kid,” she said.
On the night Papadakis fell to South Korea’s Yoon Hyunji, her family was gathered in front of a large-sized projector screen at her home to take in every twist and turn. An array of American and Olympic flags served as a welcome mat in the family’s front yard.
Papadakis said she always felt a certain ease with her dad, a boxer in his native Greece, at her side.
“You have to let the kid love the sport first or they’re going to quit,” she told the Tribune before the Olympics. “I appreciate that I grew up in a way that l was allowed to love the sport. I wasn’t forced to do it.”
Still young by judo standards and with U.S. judo officials not anticipating her to be in her prime until the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, Papadakis leaves little doubt about where she plans to go from here.
“I’m not going to go crazy beating myself up here, but I need to improve from this,” she said.
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