CABANA PEREZ Cristina

General
TRAINING CHANGE
She reconsidered her training following the postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and decided to change her training base to DojoQuino in Brunete, Spain, to work full-time under national coach Joaquin Ruiz Llorente. "When the lockdown arrived, we were close to qualifying. I was at the High Performance Centre in Madrid and doing well in competitions, but I was missing something. The postponement made me reconsider my training - maybe we were not working in the best way. My coach Manuel Amigo and I decided to ask Joaquin, one of the best trainers in the world, if I could train with him and he accepted. It has been going really well, we really agree on the way we approach the sport." (elperiodicoextremadura.com, 23 Jun 2021)

SPORT AND STUDY
She has studied for a degree in electronic engineering, industrialisation and automation, and remains committed to her studies alongside competitive judo. "I was more focused on the studies for a while so I could finish the degree, even though I was still training. I had to manage my time but if you organise yourself, you can combine both things. I came to Madrid to train, but I continued learning about renewable energy and artificial intelligence. I must have a plan B and guarantee my future in case things do not work out, or for when I retire." (elperiodicoextremadura.com, 23 Jun 2021)