Anna Żemła-Krajewska (born 13 February 1979) is a Polish

judoka is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

, who competed in the women's extra-lightweight category. She held three Polish senior titles in her own division, picked up a total of twenty-one medals in her career, and finished seventh in the 48-kg class at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. Zemla-Krajewska also trained as a full-fledged member of the judo squad for Koka Jastrzebie Zdroj in her native

Jastrzębie-Zdrój Jastrzębie-Zdrój (, ) is a city in the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland with 86,632 inhabitants (2021). Its name comes from the Polish words ''jastrząb'' ("hawk") and ''zdrój'' ("spa" or "spring"). From 1861 until the 20th century, it w ...

under her personal coach and

sensei The term "先生", read in Chinese, in Japanese, in Korean, and in Vietnamese, is an honorific used in the Sinosphere. In Japanese, the term literally means "person born before another" or "one who comes before". It is generally used ...

Robert Radlak. Zemla-Krajewska qualified for the Polish squad in the women's extra-lightweight class (48 kg) at the

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, by placing second and receiving a berth from the A-Tournament in

Tallinn, Estonia Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

. She opened her match with an astonishing victory over Russian judoka and 2000 Olympic silver medalist

Lyubov Bruletova Lyubov Aleksandrovna Bruletova (; born 17 September 1973) is a Russian judoka. Now she is judoka coach. Bruletova won a silver medal in the extra-lightweight (48 kg) division at the 2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, o ...

, before falling in a smashing

ippon is the highest score a fighter can achieve in a Japanese martial arts ''ippon-wazari'' contest, usually kendo, judo, karate or jujitsu. In judo In judo, an ''ippon'' may be scored for a throw, a pin, a choke or a jointlock. For throws, the ...

defeat and an ushiro goshi (rear throw) from Romania's Alina Dumitru in the quarterfinals. Following her opponent's progress to the semifinal, Zemla-Krajewska incurred a triple shido deduction for failing to apply pressure on Kazakhstan's

Tatyana Shishkina Tatyana Nikolayevna Shishkina (; born 27 April 1969 in Samara, Russia, Samara, Russian SFSR) is a Russian-born Kazakhstani judoka, who competed in the women's extra-lightweight category. Holding a dual citizenship to compete internationally, she ...

in their repechage match, but she restored her lead on the

tatami are soft mats used as flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. They are made in standard sizes, twice as long as wide, about , depending on the region. In martial arts, tatami are used for training in a dojo and for competition. ...

to pin her opponent at three minutes and thirteen seconds. As she gave herself a chance for a coveted spot in the bronze medal match against Germany's

Julia Matijass Julia Matijass (born 22 September 1973 in Lyubino, Soviet Union) is a German judoka. She was a member of the Russian national judo team until 1994, and received a German citizenship in 1999. Matijass won a bronze medal in the extra-lightweigh ...

, Zemla-Krajewska came up short with an

ippon seoi nage The is a throw in judo.Mifune, Kyuzo: ''The Canon of Judo'', Kodansha International Ltd. (Tokyo) 2004, , p. It is a variant of Seoi nage, and is one of the nineteen accepted techniques in Shinmeisho No Waza of Kodokan Judo. It is classifie ...

assault from Greece's

Maria Karagiannopoulou Maria Karagiannopoulou (; born 22 September 1972 in Ludwigshafen, Germany) is a Greek judoka. She finished in joint fifth place in the extra-lightweight (48 kg) division at the 2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially ...

much to the boisterous cheer of the home crowd inside

Ano Liossia Hall SUNEL Arena (stylised as SUNEL arena), also known as the Ano Liosia Olympic Hall (), is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Ano Liosia, in the western section of Athens, Greece. Originally built to host martial arts events during the 2004 Ath ...

, relegating Zemla-Krajewska to the seventh position.

References

External links

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Polish Olympic Committee Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zemla-Krajewska, Anna 1979 births Living people Polish female judoka Olympic judoka for Poland Judoka at the 2004 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Jastrzębie-Zdrój Martial artists from Silesian Voivodeship 21st-century Polish sportswomen