In her retirement post, Haecker shared, “Although I didn’t get the fairy-tale ending that I had worked so hard for, I’m incredibly proud of what I accomplished. As a little girl, I had this wild dream of going to the Olympics one day. Today I close this chapter as a 3-time Olympian - she would be thrilled.”
Across Haecker’s record-breaking career, she won Australia’s first grand prix medal, first grand slam medal, first IJF World Judo Tour gold medal, and won a total of 11 continental championship medals, including 9 golds.
Haecker’s story of success is quite remarkable. She took a break from competitive judo after high school and spent a year travelling Australia, falling in love with the country in the process. When she returned home to Germany, Haecker was not in the German national team and describes herself as being “stuck at European Cup level, unable to progress to European Opens” before a joke ignited the idea of attempting to represent Australia. As her father was Australian, Haecker had an Australian passport, and contacted Judo Australia High-performance Director and Olympic medallist Maria Pekli. Months later, Haecker fought in 2 domestic competitions before winning the 2014 Oceania championships. What began as an opportunity, sparked a brilliant international career spanning over 10 years.
Reflecting on her most memorable competitions, Katharina highlights the 2020 Tel Aviv Grand Prix and specifically the moment of hearing the Australian anthem for the first time on the IJF World Tour, as a gold medallist. A single contest she will never forget resulted in the defeat of Olympic champion and 6-time world champion Clarisse Abegnenou at the Tel Aviv Grand Slam in 2023. “Clarisse is an incredible athlete and I admire her a lot. That win meant a lot to me and gave me a huge confidence boost,” Haecker said.
Reflecting on her career, Haecker shares that, “Hard work and dedication will always pay off; not always straight away or in the exact way we hoped for but it will pay off,” attributing much of her success and development to coach and husband Alex Haecker.
After the OTP Bank World Championships Seniors in Budapest this June, Katharina and Alex moved back to Potsdam in Germany where she has started a judo coaching role in a sport school. Thinking about the next stages of life, Katharina shares that she is, “excited to give back to the sport, passing on knowledge and experiencing judo from a different angle,” adding that she is very content having “closed this chapter at the perfect time.”
Congratulations Katharina on a remarkable career. The global judo family wishes you all the best in your future endeavours.