Global InformationRaffaella Imbriani information
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 24 January 1973 Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Judoka | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.58 m (5 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Judo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight class | –52 kg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Judo League Brandenburg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Wolfgang Zuckschwerdt | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympic Games | 9th (2004) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Champ. | 
(2001) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| European Champ. | 
(1998) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Profile at external databases | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IJF | 52940 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| JudoInside.com | 244 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Updated on 19 November 2022. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Raffaella Imbriani (born 24 January 1973 in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg) is a German judoka who competed in the women's half-lightweight category.[1] She held five German senior titles in her own division, picked up a total of thirty-five medals in her career, including four from major international tournaments (European and World Championships), and represented Germany in the 52-kg class at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Imbriani also trained for Judo Club Ettlingen and then Judo League in Brandenburg under her personal coach and sensei Wolfgang Zuckschwerdt.[2][3]
Imbriani reached the pinnacle of her sporting career at the 2001 World Judo Championships in Munich, where she picked up a silver in the 52-kg division, losing to North Korean judoka and 1996 Olympic champion Kye Sun-hui in front of her home crowd.[4][5] Two years later, she shared bronze medals with Japan's Yuki Yokosawa in the same division at the 2003 World Judo Championships in Osaka, Japan, which guaranteed her a spot on the German judo squad for her major Olympic debut.[6][7]
At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Imbriani qualified for the German squad in the women's half-lightweight class (52 kg), by placing third at the World Championships in Osaka, Japan.[6][8] Imbriani got off to a firm start with convincing victories over U.S. judoka Charlee Minkin and the host nation Greece's Maria Tselaridou in the prelims, before she succumbed to a waza-ari awasete ippon hold from China's Xian Dongmei with only forty-five seconds in the time limit during their quarterfinal match.[9] Imbriani gave herself a chance for an Olympic bronze medal in the repechage round, but fell short to Algeria's Salima Souakri, who threw her off the tatami with a solid grip and a waza-ari hold forty seconds before their match ended.[10][11]
- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Raffaella Imbriani". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ^ "Raffaela Imbriani kämpft in Judo-Bundesliga für Brandenburg" [Raffaella Imbriani fights for the Judo League in Brandenburg] (in German). Potsdamer Neueste Nachrichten. 29 November 2003. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ^ "Raffaella Imbriani steckt sich neue Ziele" [Raffaella Imbriani set new goals] (in German). Hamburger Morgenpost. 29 July 2001. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ^ "British hopes thrown off course". UK Sport. 28 July 2001. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ^ "Raffaella Imbriani erreichte WM Finale – Silber schon sicher" [Raffaella Imbriani reaches the final at World Champs with a silver medal] (in German). Hamburger Morgenpost. 28 July 2001. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ^ a b "Yvonne Bönisch mit Silber ins Krankenhaus" [Yvonne Bönisch takes silver being hospitalized] (in German). Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. 13 September 2003. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ^ "Cuba's Savon Wins her First Judo World Championships Gold". Xinhua. China Radio International. 29 September 2003. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ^ "Klein, stark, weiblich" [Small, powerful, female] (in German). Die Welt. 25 July 2004. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ^ "Half Moon Bay judo athlete downed in Athens". The Jewish Week. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ^ "Judo: Women's Half-Lightweight (52kg/115 lbs) Repechage Round 2". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
- ^ ""Kleine Tigerin" kämpfte mit den Tränen" ["Small tigress" fought back tears] (in German). Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. 16 August 2004. Retrieved 23 November 2014.