Driulis González

Driulis González Morales (born September 21, 1973 in Guantánamo ) is a former Cuban judoka who won four medals in five Olympic starts.

Athletic career

The 1.62 m tall Driulis González usually competed in the lightweight up to 56 kg (up to 57 kg from 2000) until 2000, then mostly in the light middleweight up to 63 kg. At the Cuban national championships, where she won eleven titles, she was also occasionally competed in the light middleweight division before 2000.

In 1992 she won her first title at the Pan American Championships. She won a bronze medal at the 1992 Olympic Games . She also received a bronze medal at the Judo World Championships in 1993 . In 1994 she won her second title at the Pan American Championships. In 1995 she won three international titles: in March she won the Pan American Games , in August she won the title at the Universiade and in September she won the Judo World Championships in 1995 . In July 1996, the last outstanding title followed with the Olympic victory in Atlanta .

Up to the next Olympic Games, Driulis González won at the Pan American Championships in 1996, 1997 and 1998, at the Pan American Games in 1999 and at the World Team Championships in 1997 and 1998. In the final of the Judo World Championships in 1997 she was defeated by the Spaniard Isabel Fernández , but against whom she was two Years later she won the final of the 1999 World Judo Championships . Fernández and González also met in the 2000 Olympic final , this time the Spaniard won again.

After a two-year break, Driulis González returned in 2003 in the light middleweight division back to the major tournaments. After five tournament victories, she won the Pan American Games in August . In the final of the Judo World Championships in 2003, González lost to the Argentine Daniela Krukower a month later . At the Olympic Games in 2004 she won her second bronze medal after 1992. She also won bronze at the 2005 Judo World Championships . After winning silver at the World Team Championships with only the Cuban team in 2006, Driulis Gonzalez achieved several victories at major championships again in 2007. She won the Pan American Championships in May, the Pan American Games in July and the World Championships in September . After silver at the World Team Championships in November 2007 and gold at the Pan American Championships in May 2008, she lost to the later Olympic champion Ayumi Tanimoto at the 2008 Olympic Games and in the battle for bronze to the Dutch Elisabeth Willeboordse .

After the 2008 Olympics, González ended her career

Web links

• Driulis González in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )
• Driulis González on Judoinside (English)