Danielle Zangrando is pregnant!

The judoka Danielle Zangrando will say goodbye to judo in November, during the Open Games, in a way that she couldn’t have imagined before. Instead of wearing a kimono to fight on the tatami, like planned, Danielle will have a symbolic farewell, probably with her daughter, Lara, on her arms.

“I still haven’t quite realized what’s going on. Most likely I won’t be fighting. Lara will be born in the end of October and the Open Games will be on the first quarter of November”, said Zangrando.

Danielle found out she was pregnant by accident. “I was practicing as I usually do and I starter to feel something strange; my heart was racing, the same symptoms I had when I had a tiroid problem for emotional reasons in 2004”, the told us. “I was under treatment until 2008, I suddenly, after everything was fine, it starts all over again? I decided to do a check-up. The results were really weird and, since my period was late, my doctor asked for a pregnancy test. Then I found out I was four months pregnant! It was a huge shock!”

Despite not being able to fight anymore, Danielle has already warned everyone she won’t be quitting the Sport. “I will keep on doing my charity work, taking the philosophy behind judo to schools; I will still give out lectures and classes and work as a TV commentator during the competitions”.