Watch: German judo coach slapping athlete before Olympic match goes viral

A bizarre pre-match ritual before a judo event at the Olympics 2021 has gained international attention. In a now viral video, a coach is seen slapping the judoka to motivate her before the start of her event. Here's why the incident is trending on Twitter.

German coach slaps judoka prior to her match

Germany's Martyna Trajdos was all set to face her Hungarian opponent Szofi Ozbas. In front of the cameras, the coach slapped the judoka in animation to pump her up before her crucial elimination match.

Despite all the motivation, the judoka lost the match. She was defeated by her Hungarian opponent who was later defeated in the round of 16 match. Slapping contestants to motivate them has been a common practice in several sports over the years. Although the coach clearly did not intend to hurt the judoka, the incident sparked a huge debate on Twitter.

A day later, Martyna cleared the air in her Instagram post. The judoka claimed that the incident was a pre-match ritual she asked her coach to do, just to fire her up.

Twitter reactions to the coach slapping the judoka before her match

Former Olympic medalist Nancy Hogshead-Makar called the incident uncalled for. Many others also shared their thoughts on the video that came out on July 28.

This is the coaching I need on Mondays, around 7am #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/b9BeLUfus4

— Andrew Gourdie (@AndrewGourdie) July 27, 2021

Not funny.🚩I’m an Olympic champion - and this is WRONG. 🚩The culture of #AthleteAbuse is on full display here, out in the open, and the athlete accepts it - it’s normalized. 🚩The serious harms that flow from abuse don’t go away if the athlete wins. STOP https://t.co/ysVe3hU45X

— Nancy Hogshead-Makar, JD, Oly (@Hogshead3Au) July 28, 2021

Indeed, feminists and, really, anyone who cares about the welfare of people will not like this. This is called interpersonal violence against athletes, it is abusive and unethical, on so many levels. It should be banned, and the coach should be removed from the sport.

— Aurélie Pankowiak, PhD (@AureliePanko) July 28, 2021

Taking a leaf out of Tommy’s book: pic.twitter.com/LLtKDLycsF

— Bill Birtles (@billbirtles) July 28, 2021

Violence??? It's just a way of motivating the athletes. It's Martial Art for Godsake🤦‍♂. It helps in charging up the body. Since, I am learning Martial Art it happens very often. It's not like he wants to hurt her or "show her that she is weak" or anything like that.

— Akshat Abhishek (@akshatabhishek0) July 28, 2021

OK I'll take my chances with this one. The sport is Judo. She's wearing a black belt. There's probably a good chance she's taken (and given) a fair amount of abuse to coaches in her chosen sport to get that black belt

— Ryan (@ryanwinslade) July 28, 2021

Isn't this violence against females? Must be!

— Dave M Cull (@dreamer3638) July 27, 2021

This is enought to keep me awake for 4 Mondays in a row 😂

— Madhu (@arian_earthling) July 28, 2021