Ukrainian Female Judo Champions

Ukrainian twins Marina and Inna Cherniak became undisputed judo champions simultaneously. Marina entered the top ten best athletes in the world – while her sister Inna became a judo world champion among visually impaired athletes.

For the past 17 years, the two have begun their day with a workout.

“Training starts at 7 a.m., in rare cases at 9 a.m. We wake up early at 6 a.m.. the girls said.

These sportswomen have changed the dresses and heels preferred by many girls, for kimonos.

“When I put it on, I immediately set my mind on training. If it’s a competition, on fighting,” Inna said.

They say that the belt is a special element of clothing, as it “accumulates” the energy of victory from each competition.

“I never give my belt to anyone, my energy’s in it. It is personal. Sometimes you win a competition and the belt is kept. And you think that the next competition will be brilliant,” Maryna said.

Andriy Bondarchuk, a ‘Merited Coach of Ukraine’ saw potential in the girls when they were 13 and decided to coach them.

“We got off the bus, I tried to stop the girls. One ran away, and one stayed. I offered them training, then I called their mother and since then they’ve been ours,” Bondarchuk said.

Now, the judo twins share a lot of awards. Inna is a champion of the Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro and the European Games in Baku. She is a silver medalist at the Summer Universiade in Kazan as well. Marina is a champion of Ukraine and a bronze medalist of the European Championship.

In November, the sisters won two more gold medals for Ukraine.

Inna won the World Judo Championship for visually impaired athletes held in Portugal.

“Gold medal, I set myself up for this world championship. It was important, there was a chance to become the Merited Master of Sport. But I had to become the very first,” Inna Cherniak said.

Marina struck the Grand Prix gold medal in the Netherlands, having defeated the Brazilian Olympic champion Sarah Menezes.

“I felt that I was functionally stronger. There’s one chance – either you win, or lose,” Maryna said.

“She is now among the ten best athletes in the world. In a month, there will be master competition in China, in which 16 of the continent’s strongest athletes will participate,” Bondarchuk said.

Inna and Marina have two workouts a day. Both are actively preparing for the Olympics in Tokyo in 2020.