Paris 2024: The hidden injury toll behind two-time Olympian Josh Katz

Josh Katz defied two ruptured knee ligaments to qualify and compete at the Paris Olympics. He reveals the mental toll, his unusual training and how he has learned to appreciate his accomplishment.

It was the ultimate career crossroads.

Olympian Josh Katz ruptured his ACL at a judo training camp in “a freak accident” six months out from the 2024 Paris Games.

Katz made his Olympic debut at Rio in 2016 as a bright-eyed 18-year-old before missing Tokyo due to a stretch of injury setbacks.

He faced a choice: miss a second successive games or “push through”.

“I had to reflect on whether it was something I wanted to do and if it was, I had to keep going,” Katz said.

“It felt like the whole world was falling around me which, looking back now, is a bit overly dramatic.

“The only thing in my mind at that point was ‘was it possible to go to Paris’ – I had a lot of advice that was it was possible, it would be a challenge but there were no guarantees my knee would hold up.”

Katz (white) in preparation. Picture: Archivist Media

The games were in six months but his final Olympic qualifier was only three months away – a short 90 odd days between rupture and go-time.

Katz’s training became “trial and error” as his knee continued to buckle during the rigours of normal preparation.

Sparring was out and lifting weights were in.

“It buckled under me so many times at training that we realised I should be as fit and as strong as I could and my skills as sharp as I could without testing it,” he said.

“For about four months in the lead up to Paris I didn’t do a single sparring round which is a bit crazy but I couldn’t risk going over it at training.

“I just managed to train as hard as I could and hope that when it came to the day that I could mentally push through any pain I could.

“I don’t envy my coaches or my support staff that were trying to help me, I was certainly a bit of a head case the whole time, unsure if what I was doing was enough.”

Few Olympians immediately finish the games completely satisfied with what they’ve achieved, and for a while Katz was one of them.

But when he returned and was steered into surgery, he was able to appreciate the enormity of his accomplishment.

“At the start of 2024 my goals were much higher than what I was able to achieve in the end but with all the circumstances … I was really appreciative to have gone there (Paris),” he said.

“When I got there I was still really confident and had a lot belief despite not having the preparation but unfortunately it wasn’t enough.

“I was able to reflect pretty quickly after Paris and look at the whole thing pretty positively.

“It had turned out that in some point between January and competing in Paris I had done my meniscus as well.”

Katz (right) was one of three Australians competing in judo. Picture: Adam Head

Josh’s brother Nathan, who is a two-time Olympian and Commonwealth Games medallist himself, was making a transition into coaching when Josh injured his knee.

“Dad (former national coach Robert Katz) called me late one night and said ‘Josh has hurt his knee’,” Nathan recalled.

“We have been banged up before so I figured for him to call me it was a bit more serious.

“I felt sad and sick, he was obviously in a qualifying position at that point and there’s a lot of uncertainty around a knee, he had finally got healthy and had a good run.

“I didn’t think it would finish his career but your initial reaction to an ACL is ‘well, that’s probably his year done’.”

Nathan was taken aback by his brother’s dedication and resilience, saying it lifted the entire team in preparation for Paris.

Nathan Katz. Photo by Michael Klein

“I haven’t seen anything like that, to be honest,” he said.

“There were a lot of setbacks in my career and in Josh’s career but I don’t think I have seen anyone navigate so many issues and challenges.

“There were some flat spots for sure but it was definitely inspiring on my end because I could see what he was willing to do for his dream.

“It lifted everyone around him because he was doing everything, it was easy for us to want to replicate that.”

Nathan, who is now coaching Australia’s future stars at an underage level, hopes his year with Josh was a one-of-a-kind.

“You don’t know for certain if what you’re doing is the right thing to do, there was a lot of decisions that were done with uncertainty because we hadn’t dealt with someone trying to compete without an ACL … I am hopeful it was a unique year.”

Originally published as Paris 2024: The hidden injury toll behind two-time Olympian Josh Katz