Claudia_Heill

Claudia Heill

Claudia Heill

Austrian judoka (1982–2011)

Claudia Heill (24 January 1982 – 31 March 2011) was an Austrian judoka best known for winning the silver medal in the half-middleweight (‍–‍63 kg) division at the 2004 Summer Olympics.[4]

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Biography

In addition to her success at the 2004 Summer Olympics, Heill won silver medals[5] at the European Championships in 2001 and 2005 and bronze medals in 2002, 2003 and 2007. She placed fifth at the 2008 Summer Olympics and retired one year later. After retiring from competition, she began coaching junior judoka.[6]

Heill in 1998 aged 16 won the ‍–‍63 kg category at the Senior Austrian National Championships.[7] Later that same year Heill won silver at the Junior World Championships (Cali) where she lost to the Japanese Keiko Maeda. Within a month Heill took the gold medal at the Junior European Championships (Bucharest). Heill’s position as a world-class judoka in the ‍–‍63 kg category was developing quickly. In 2000, at the Junior World Championships (Nabul) she won bronze and at the Junior European Championships (Nicosia) she won silver. By 2001, Heill began concentrating on her senior career and she took a silver medal in the European Championships (Paris)[8] and placed fifth at the World Championships (Munich).

Heill spent the next seven years competing internationally. She was one of four Austrians (Sabrina Filzmoser, Ludwig Paischer and Andreas Mitterfellner making up the quartet) to take gold medals at the World Military Championships in 2006[9] helping her country top the medal table. Her finest hour was her silver medal-winning performance at the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004. “This had been her dream even as she began practicing her first judo attacks as a seven-year-old,” said her longtime coach Hubert Rohrauer.[10] Heill was part of the organizing committee at the European Championships in Vienna in 2010.

Heill committed suicide by jumping to her death from a 6th-story window in Vienna on 31 March 2011.[11] Shortly before her death, Heill was a commentator on JudoTV at the Judo World Cup in Oberwart. Her former teammate Ludwig Paischer was stunned by her tragic death, saying, "She was such a fun-loving, friendly person."

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References

  1. [1]
    "Olympedia – Claudia Heill". Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  2. [2]
    "Steckbrief Claudia Heill". derstandard.at (in Austrian German).
  3. [3]
    "Claudia Heill: Suizid nach Beziehungsdrama?" (in German). 5 August 2014. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
  4. [4]
    "Claudia Heill Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  5. [5]
    "Österreichische Olympia-Zweite nimmt sich das Leben". welt.de (in German). 31 March 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  6. [6]
    "Austria judo medallist Claudia Heill falls to her death". bbc.com. 31 March 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  7. [7]
    "Claudia Heill". judoinside.com. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  8. [8]
    "Former Olympic Judo Silver Medalist Commits Suicide in Austria". foxnews.com. 19 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  9. [9]
    "Sportwelt entsetzt über Selbstmord von Heill". heute.at (in German). 31 March 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  10. [10]
    "Judo-Österreich trauert um Claudia HeillJudo-Österreich trauert um Claudia Heill". judoaustria.at (in German). 4 April 2011. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
  11. [11]
    "Austrian judo medalist Heill, 29, jumps to death". ESPN.com. 31 March 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
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