Influenced by her mother’s decades-long passion for judo, Anetta Mosr was drawn to the spirit of competition and sportsmanship from an early age. Indeed, after Anetta’s parents moved from Czechia to Luxembourg, her mother started regularly training at the Judo Club in Beaufort, where she also took on coaching responsibilities as an assistant coach. Anetta and her twin sister Klara quickly became involved with judo, following in their mother’s footsteps at the age of 5.
Over the years, Anetta participated in numerous championships, attended the Sportlycée (High School for sports), and later pursued Biology studies at the University of Luxembourg. Balancing her academic pursuits with her passion for sports, she maintained a demanding schedule with 4 to 5 judo training sessions per week. This required a considerable amount of organisation and discipline on her part : “Everything was fifty-fifty. I couldn’t only focus on my studies or only on sports. It wasn’t always easy.”
After receiving her bachelor’s degree, she decided she wanted to focus on sports with the goal of becoming a high-performing professional athlete. To pursue this goal, she opted to join the army where she enlisted last year. She was only one out of 8 women, something which posed no problem for her. “I have always got along well with boys”, says the young woman.
During her stay, she engaged in sports, shooting practice, deployment tactics, and drill training, which involved the execution of orders as a group and marching in sync as a cohesive unit. Smiling, she shares an anecdote: “It was never boring, and on the rare occasions when there was nothing on the schedule, we had cleaning or boot-polishing duty. The goal was to polish the shoes to the point that you could see your reflection in them.”
“It’s also physically and mentally demanding, especially when it rains for days on end.” This is also the reason why many people drop out during their training. But getting to know people and striking up friendships with some (or all) of them is a great motivator - memorable moments are never missing.
“There’s so many examples of such moments like during outdoor exercises when we get woken up at 3 in the morning to take over the shift. For tactical reasons you’re not allowed to use your flashlight and so you hear people bumping into everything and struggling to find their sleeping bag. Those moments are very funny.”
These moments are also filled with valuable learning experiences. Anetta explains: “For example, one has to learn to pack their backpack properly and maintain order so that you can find your bag even in the dark without a light.”
After four months with the Luxembourgish Army, a total of 61 soldiers successfully completed their training, with Anetta emerging as the top trainee, a distinction she did not initially anticipate. She reflects on the achievement, stating: “Whenever I got the test results where I was in first place, I was, of course, very excited and proud. And to finish at the top of the class if incredibly exciting.”
Following her success within the army, Anetta is now set to shift her focus entirely back to sports. This means that daily rigorous training is back on the table and that camps abroad will soon follow. Indeed, she has already a couple of intensive camps planned in Ivory Coast, Estonia, and Poland as well as a series of already confirmed championships.
As for the Olympic Games, the young woman does not want to rush anything, considering it might be a bit late for those games already. However, she envisions working towards it in the future. In her latest accomplishment, she successfully secured a silver medal at the Games of the Small States in the under 63 kilograms category for judo.
