First-year medical student Yasmin Giannini is taking the drive and discipline she’s learnt on the judo floor and applying it to her degree.

Winning a Silver medal at the C2 London International in 2022 and Gold in the Juniors category at the London Open University National Championships in November 2023, Yasmin is making a name for herself in the sport she has devoted the past decade to.

Unintentionally, Yasmin has followed in her mother Samantha’s footsteps after finding photographs in a family photo album of Samantha in a judo Gi, accompanied by snapshots of her in newspapers and with Olympian Brian Jacks. Unfortunately, her career as a potential Olympian judoka was cut short after multiple bone breaks forced her to retire at the age of 18. After vowing never to enter a dojo again, Samantha was reluctant to let Yasmin enter the sport, but after seeing the photos of her mother, Yasmin was determined to try the sport for herself.

From joining a ‘fairly lightweight’ fun judo club when she was eight years old, Yasmin progressed to the bigger and more established club, Yoshin Ryu Judo in Addiscombe, close to her home in Crystal Palace, when she turned 11. Yasmin started to compete in external competitions and made it onto the Surrey Squad, before becoming Southern Area champion and entering multiple competitions across the country.

Discussing her passion for the sport, Yasmin says: “Judo is a lifestyle. It demands resilience, discipline, and a strong, trustful bond with your fellow judokas. I enjoy winning, but it’s the camaraderie and the people that made me love the sport.”

Embarking on a five-year degree, Yasmin is now facing the challenge of balancing her studies with her training. Finding that the two can complement each other, rather than being a battle, is the approach she has decided to take. Yasmin continued: “Medicine is relentless, but I’ve always used judo as my outlet; my ‘balance’ in life. I find that when things get tough with my studies, I’ll just close the books and get myself into the gym or dojo. The adrenaline rush of sport really helps to focus my mind across my whole life.”

“Judo also helps with my confidence and resilience. If I’m finding my studies are a struggle, I’ll remind myself that with a little extra application, anything is possible, and that helps me push ahead in both study and sport.”

In turn, the University is also keen for Yasmin to pursue her sporting career and is looking to support her further through its Talented Athlete Programme. Encouraging students to sustain their level of sport while studying, the programme offers a range of support to promising athletes, including free gym membership, access to sports facilities and coaches, and help to secure funding.

Yasmin says: “The Talented Athlete Programme has been a godsend to me. I feel like I’m in heaven on campus because I can run from my room to the gym within five minutes and I have access to sport facilities at my fingertips now which I couldn’t access back home in London.”

“Jayne Baker and Nicole Burdett at the Sports Centre have taken the time to analyse my body and sporting performance, creating bespoke fitness and conditioning programmes especially for me. Before I came to Keele, I was a female judoka in a sea of male judokas, none of whom understood the needs of my body. I always had to train with the lads and that isn’t good for a female body when you’re competing in a sport ruled by weight. I now have specific training regimes that are helping me to tone, become stronger, and get fitter without gaining too much muscle weight. My body works better now after only one term! I also now have access to physiotherapy which helps with my injuries. I came to Keele with a whole lifetime of judo injuries, but these will gradually ease with the help of physio.”

Yasmin makes use of the University’s on-site physiotherapy and rehabilitation clinic, which offers its services to students on the Talented Athlete Programme, as well as other students, staff and members of the public. Providing support with training and injury recovery, the clinic is manned by Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation and Exercise Science students who offer thorough and detailed assessments and hands-on treatments.

Only a term into her degree, Yasmin is unsure which aspect of medicine she would like to pursue as her specialist area, but she knows one thing for certain. She wants to make a difference, in judo and in her career. In both aspects, she wants to work towards changing other people’s lives for the better, physically and mentally.

While combining her medical knowledge and judo abilities to go to the Olympics would be Yasmin’s ultimate goal, she also wants to break down barriers to the sport which can deter women from trying judo. Yasmin explained: “Female judo is niche, and girls are often discouraged by the strength and aggression of the sport, and by having to mess up their hair and make-up, so there aren’t a lot of women in the sport.

“I’d like to find a way to promote judo nationally to all women. If more girls took up judo, they’d have greater body awareness, meaning they’d have more confidence in their own bodies, and a better chance of self-defence (if they ever needed it). Judo is a life skill that I think every girl needs to have exposure to.”

Coming to the University and being able to continue her sporting career also provided Yasmin with a way of meeting like-minded peers and a community that can support each other through their studies and judo. Joining a sports team is also a great way to meet others who are studying different subjects and can widen your friendship network.

Yasmin continued: “Keele has one of the best university judo clubs in the UK which has enabled me to make great friends from day one. The personal help and support given to me by everyone here has really made a difference and keeps me motivated. Jayne, Nicole, Taz, Dom, Tom, Scott and Jared are both my support network and friends.

“Although judo is an individual, competitive sport you need teamwork to get you through and I have an amazing team at the University. Keele is definitely the enabler that will help me to move onto the next level in both my studies and judo.”