Kayra Özdemir at 38: medals, borders and near misses

Kayra Özdemir’s career reads like a story of reinvention. Born Ketty Mathé in Martinique and raised in France, she later competed as Kayra Sayit and Kayra Ozerler before using the name Kayra Özdemir. Now 38, she has been to three Olympic Games, won multiple European titles and collected more than two dozen medals on the IJF World Tour. Her path began at 15 in Saint Brieuc. Early promise was interrupted by difficulties: a 2008 suspension after a positive cannabis test, a later longer IJF ban following a second positive result, a posterior cruciate ligament injury and the disappointment of missing Olympic selection in 2012. The decisive turn came in 2014 when she began representing Türkiye, fought for Galatasaray and rebuilt her career with support from figures such as Omar Gherram. Her record includes European crowns in 2016 and 2021, European bronze in 2007 and 2024, World Championship bronze in 2018 and 2019 and silver in 2024 (lost to Tomita Wakaba). On the World Tour she won 26 medals, with Grand Slam golds in Budapest (2015, 2020) and Antalya (2017, 2023). She finished fifth at Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024. "To be happy and healthy. To write my story in the best possible way." Source: judoinside.com