Frank de Wit wants to build out his leading position in The Hague

Frank de Wit is the number one of the world U81kg and Holland’s poster boy for the Grand Prix in The Hague. On Thursday the draw will be conducted and among the 250 participants the Netherlands have a great bunch of participants. De Wit won the Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi and is obviously one of the eye catchers.

De Wit was dragged into judo as his brother did judo and he loved to watch it. At that time he didn’t know he was about to become one of the best. He was World Junior Champion in 2015 and two years later he is leading the World Ranking. His sister Caroline became a good judoka too and Frankie was able to pick it up fast. The support of his family is important, but once on the tatami, he only hears his coach.

Since his World title in Abu Dhabi Frank and his coach Benito May decided to skip the Junior events and step up as he could qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio. De Wit achieved to qualify and as a youngster that was a huge bonus. Frank wasn’t hugely impressed by the tournament. “It’s just a tournament” but has a focus for 2020 to take the ultimate medal.

Frank always sees the advantage  of a loss (but not when it’s an important championship), each time you learn. He can analyse, is realistic and ambitious. When he missed a medal at the World Championships in Budapest was quite a deception, especial the way he lost and for 2018 the rules have been changed when it comes to strangling the legs in a juji gatame situation. He was totally mad about the arbitrary failure in his last match, and took revenge on his loss on the Mongolian in Abu Dhabi and snatched the gold.

That’s the spirit of Frank de Wit. In The Hague he can defend his number one position and build out his lead. He is usually accompanied by his friend Michael Korrel, also in the top of the world U100kg. Together they made the move to the new central training accommodation and together they travel to the major events. His team around him, his coach May, his physio trainer are important people to Frank. They keep him sharp and innovate his skills. In The Hague you can see Frank de Wit in action on Saturday.