Claudia Heill

Claudia Heill (24 January 1982 – 31 March 2011) was an Austrian judoka best known for winning the silver medal in the half-middleweight (63 kg) division at the 2004 Summer Olympics.[3]

Claudia Heill
Claudia Heill (2010)
Personal information
Nationality Austria
Born(1982-01-24)24 January 1982
Vienna, Austria
Died31 March 2011(2011-03-31) (aged 29)
Vienna, Austria
OccupationJudoka
Height1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) [1]
Weight65 kg (143 lb)
Sport
CountryAustria
SportJudo
Rank     1st dan black belt in Judo[1]
ClubJC Shiai-Do Wr. Neudorf Thermenregion[2]
Coached byHupo Rohrauer
RetiredJune 2009[2]
Achievements and titles
World Champ.5th (2001)
European Champ.Silver (2001, 2005)
Olympic GamesSilver (2004)
Medal record
Women's judo
Representing  Austria
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2004 Athens –63 kg
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 2001 Paris –63 kg
Silver medal – second place 2005 Rotterdam –63 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Maribor –63 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Düsseldorf –63 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Belgrade –63 kg
World Juniors Championships
Silver medal – second place 1998 Cali –63 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Nabeul –63 kg
European Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 1998 Bucharest –63 kg
Silver medal – second place 2000 Nicosia –63 kg
Profile at external databases
IJF401
JudoInside.com498
Updated on 17 February 2022.

Biography

In addition to her success at the 2004 Summer Olympics, Heill won silver medals[4] at the European championship in 2001 and 2005 and bronze medals in 2002, 2003 and 2007. She placed fifth at the 2008 Summer Olympics and retired one year later. After retiring from competition, she began coaching junior judoka.[5]

Heill in 1998 aged 16 won the -63 kg category at the Senior Austrian National Championships.[6] Later that same year Heill won silver at the Junior World Championships (Cali) where she lost to the Japanese Maeda Keiko. Within a month Heill took the gold medal at the Junior European Championships (Bucharest). Heill’s position as a world-class judoka in the -63 kg category was developing quickly. In 2000, at the Junior World Championships (Nabul) she won bronze and at the Junior European Championships (Nicosia) she won silver. By 2001, Heill began concentrating on her senior career and she took a silver medal in the European Championships (Paris)[7] and placed fifth at the World Championships (Munich).

Heill spent the next seven years competing internationally. She was one of four Austrians (Sabrina Filzmoser, Ludwig Paischer and Andreas Mitterfellner making up the quartet) to take gold medals at the World Military Championships in 2006[8] helping her country top the medal table. Her finest hour was her silver medal-winning performance at the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004. “This had been her dream even as she began practicing her first judo attacks as a seven-year-old,” said her longtime coach Hubert Rohrauer.[9] Heill was part of the organizing committee at the European Championships in Vienna in 2010.

Heill committed suicide by jumping to her death from a 6th-story window in Vienna on March 31, 2011.[10] Shortly before her death, Heill was a commentator on JudoTV at the Judo World Cup in Oberwart. Her former teammate Ludwig Paischer was stunned by her tragic death, saying, "She was such a fun-loving, friendly person."

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References
  1. "Olympedia – Claudia Heill". Retrieved 2023-03-06.
  2. "Steckbrief Claudia Heill". derstandard.at (in Austrian German).
  3. "Claudia Heill Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
  4. "Österreichische Olympia-Zweite nimmt sich das Leben". welt.de (in German). 2011-03-31. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
  5. "Austria judo medallist Claudia Heill falls to her death". bbc.com. 2011-03-31. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
  6. "Claudia Heill". judoinside.com. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
  7. "Former Olympic Judo Silver Medalist Commits Suicide in Austria". foxnews.com. 2015-09-19. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
  8. "Sportwelt entsetzt über Selbstmord von Heill". heute.at (in German). 2011-03-31. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
  9. "Judo-Österreich trauert um Claudia HeillJudo-Österreich trauert um Claudia Heill". judoaustria.at (in German). 2011-04-04. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
  10. "Austrian judo medalist Heill, 29, jumps to death". ESPN.com. 2011-03-31. Retrieved 2020-06-14.
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