Nora Gjakova’s Next Fight Begins on the Coaching Side

Nora Gjakova has entered a new phase in Judo after retiring from competition in January. The Olympic champion from Kosovo is now building her coaching career, taking on the role of women’s national coach for Judo Wallonie-Bruxelles in Belgium.

For years, Gjakova’s identity was inseparable from elite sport. She had reached the top as an Olympic champion at -57 kg, a European champion, a world bronze medallist, and one of Kosovo’s most successful judoka. Stepping away from that life, however, was not a simple switch.

She described the emotional weight of retirement openly, saying she grieved the version of herself she had loved as an athlete. Even though coaching had long been part of her plan, the first steps proved harder than expected. Returning to Kosovo’s National Center, the same dojo where she had created so many career-defining memories, left her struggling to find comfort in a completely different role.

Instead of feeling renewed by the sport, she found herself facing silence and distance from the identity that had carried her for so long. That became the turning point. Gjakova realised she did not need to leave Judo behind, but she did need space from the athlete she had been.

That search for a healthier transition led her to Belgium. By joining Judo Wallonie-Bruxelles as women’s national coach, she found the fresh setting she felt she needed. According to Gjakova, things are going well in her new environment, and the move has given her room to grow into the coach she wants to become.

Sometimes the hardest change in Judo comes after the medals.

Her competitive record gives real weight to that new chapter. Alongside Olympic gold, Gjakova won world bronze in 2021, took the European title in 2018, earned silver at the 2019 European Games, collected five European bronze medals, and claimed three Grand Slam victories. At the Paris Olympics in 2024, she also carried Kosovo’s flag with her brother, Akil Gjakova.

But her coaching philosophy is not built only on medals. Gjakova says the values that shaped her as an athlete still guide her now: hard work, discipline, consistency, and emotional balance. She wants athletes to approach Judo as a game shaped by preparation, strategy, and the willingness to keep improving after both wins and losses.

That mindset is closely linked to the influence of Driton Kuka, the coach who helped shape both Gjakova and the rise of Kosovo as a major force in Judo. Gjakova spoke about the trust they built over the years, especially before the biggest competitions, and said that same trust is now central to the way she wants to coach.

She does not want athletes to depend on her for every decision. Instead, her goal is to help them grow more independent, more confident in training, and more aware of their own feelings in contest preparation. In her view, that process takes time.

Gjakova is no longer chasing medals, but growth still drives her.

Gjakova’s story is not just about retirement. It is about the difficult space between one identity and the next, and about staying connected to Judo while learning how to belong to it in a new way.

Source: EJU.net

Image source: EJU / European Judo Union