Kelita Zupancic Her Record, Net Worth, Weight, Age & More!

By Benjamin Strusnik, December 22, 2021

Who Is Kelita Zupancic?

Kelita Zupancic is an extremely successful Black belt Judoka who has represented Canada at the Olympic level. The Slovenian born Canadian National Kelita, has won over 40 World Cup medals throughout her career, including Gold medals at World events, European events and many other international tournaments. Kelita has trained under the famous coaches Nicolas Gill and Hiroshi Nakamura at the National Training Centre in Montreal, and spent some time at Komatsu, a famous women’s training centre in Japan.

Who Is Kelita Zupancic?

Complete Guide To Sankaku by Kelita Zupancic

Kelita began her Judo career with an outstanding performance as an under 17, winning the Canadian Under 17 Championships in 2005. She went on to win multiple titles at the Ontario Open in the under 17 and under 20 divisions, she also secured various other tournament wins like; Quebec Opens, Canadian Nationals, A - Tournaments and Belgian Ladies Opens. Kelita was a prodigy on the Judo mats as she excelled under the tutelage of her father and her coaches Nic Gill and Hiroshi Nakamura.

By 2010 Kelita was well on her way to becoming an Olympic champion as she became a standout in professional competition. After many of Kelita’s successes, her coach Hiroshi Nakamura decided that Kelita needed some extra high level training. Hiroshi contacted Yoshiyuku Matsuoka who was the former 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Champion in Judo. Yoshiyuki was the head coach at the Komatsu training centre, a private women's Judo club full of high level coaches and competitors like; Kazuhiko Tokuno and Mayumi Katsura. Kelita trained under high intensity for one month in Japan and later that year would go on to win medals at both the Germany Grand Prix and the World cup in Hungary. Kelita also won Gold at the Pan American Judo Championships in El Salvador, as she attributed the wins to her amazing experience with Komatsu.

At the end of 2010 Kelita announced at the Formokan’s 35th year anniversary event, that she had been offered a position on the Komatsu team. Kelita was lucky enough to be the one foreign student selected to join Komatsu, as she began to train and compete for the formidable Japanese Judo team. Kelita finished second at the World Cup in Sao Paulo and secured 3 third place finishes at the Pan American Championships in Guadalajara, the World Cup in Minsk and the Grand Slam in Rio De Janeiro.

In 2012 Kelita qualified for the London Olympics which was a childhood dream of hers. As she walked with her team through the opening ceremony she spoke about how proud she was to represent Canada. Kelita was disappointed as she finished in 9th place but was extremely humbled by the experience. In 2016 Kelita would return to the Olympic roster this time in Rio De Janeiro, as she bettered her London campaign by finishing in 7th place. Kelita again was disappointed but not disheartened as she went on to compete successfully for years to come.

In 2017 Kelita won the Pan American Open in Santiago by defeating the American Nicole Stout in the final. Over the next two years Kelita won multiple Silver medals at prestigious events like; Pan Americans in Panama, European Open in Rome, the Grand Slam in Paris and Grand Prix events in Tbilisi, Antalya and Hohhot. During 2019 and 2020, Kelita secured Silver and Bronze medals at the Montreal, Hohhot, Tel Aviv and Budapest Grand Prix events and the Pan American Championships in Lima. On the 6th of April 2019 Kelita won Gold at the New York Open Team Championships. Over the course of Kelita’s career she has simply astounded many of her fans with her exceptional skills in Judo.

Creating Kuzushi by Israel Hernandez

How Old Is Kelita Zupancic?

Kelita Zupancic is of Slovenian heritage but was born in Whitby, Toronto in Canada on the 9th of May 1990, she is currently 31 years of age.

Kelita Zupancic’s Family!

Kelita Zupancic grew up in Toronto Canada with her family, her mother Annette and her father Edward were huge influences on her life. Kelita’s father Edward was a 5th Dan Black belt in Judo who introduced Kelita to the sport in 1995 at just 5 years of age. From that moment on Kelita was in search of becoming an Olympian and a World Champion. Kelita has three younger brothers Anton, Ryan and Andrew who all loved competitive sports. Growing up they all loved hockey and Martial Arts, Kelita’s brothers were all drafted to play hockey with the Ontario Hockey League. Kelita used to play hockey in the AAA boys team but as she grew into a teen she stayed on a path into Judo. Kelita would aspire for greatness as she intensified her training by competing internationally and training at Komatsu, a well known top level women's Judo team in Japan. Kelita began her surge into the world scene as she secured an array of medals as a junior and later an adult.

How Much Is Kelita Zupancic Worth?

Kelita Zupancic has been an extraordinary athlete throughout her career. She has secured prize money for many events and earned plenty of remuneration through the Komatsu company. Kelita has built a vast amount of wealth over her years as a professional Judoka, her net worth is reported to be at 1.5 million dollars. Kelita is also earning money through her new instructional video “Complete Guide To Sankaku '' which is available exclusively through bjjfanatics.com.

How Tall Is Kelita Zupancic?

Kelita Zupancic stands at 5 feet and 7 inches tall which is the equivalent of 170 centimetres.

How Much Does Kelita Zupancic Weigh?

Kelita Zupancic weighs in at 70 kilograms or (154 lbs) Kelita has spent most of her career at 70 kg but she has had a few tournaments at 63 kg or (138 lbs)

Kelita Zupancic's Fight List!

Kelita Zupancic has fought on the world stage of Judo for nearly 20 years. She is a formidable Judoka who has won nearly everything there is to win in the sport of Judo. She has fought against extremely talented athletes like; Barbara Matic, Assmaa Niang, Alena Prokopenko, Maria Portela, Gabriella Willems, Anna Bernholm, Jessica Gallegos, Carola Paissoni, Alice Bellandi, Nan Shao, Sally Conway, Emilie Sook, Lucie Perrot, Vanessa Chala, Nicole Stout, Naeko Maeda, Nadia Merli, Esther Stam, Jenny Werner, Irana Dibrina, Monika Burgess, Fei Chen and Juliane Robra,

Kelita Zupancic’s Best Fight Of All Time!

Kelita Zupancic has been involved in many amazing fights throughout her long and illustrious career. With over 200 wins under her belt she has electrified the world stage of Judo on more than one occasion. Kelita has won over 80 tournament medals ranging from World Cups, European Championships, Pan American Championships, National Events and International Opens. It is no secret that competing at the London and the Rio Olympic games was Kelita’s biggest honour, even though she did not medal it was a humbling experience to walk with her team through the opening ceremony and step onto the Olympic competition mats. One of Kelita’s best events came in 2013 when she won the IJF Grand Slam in Baku. Kelita defeated both Barbara Bandel and Juliane Robra in the quarter and semi finals respectively. In the final Kelita took on Laura Vargas Koch, and defeated her 3 minutes into the final with an Ippon. Kelita was crowned the Baku Grand Slam Champion as she made her family and country proud.

Who Did Kelita Zupancic Lose To?

Kelita Zupancic has had over 100 losses in her career, some of her losses have been against athletes like; Maria Perez, Laura Vargas Koch, Barbara Timo, Yuri Alvear, Yoko Ono, Chizuru Arai, Linda Bolder, Bernadette Graf, Kim Polling and Karen Nun Ira. Kelita would suffer her worst losses at the best moments in her career, in what would be a double edged sword. Kelita qualified for the 2012 London Olympics in the under 70 kilogram division. She was elated to be included in the Olympic team as all of her childhood dreams were coming true. Kelita won her first match but then ran into the three time World Champion and eventual Gold medalist Lucy Decosse of France, who defeated Kelita relegating her to 9th position. Kelita would keep her Olympic dream alive by qualifying for the 2016 Rio De Janeiro Olympic games. Kelita defeated Esther Stam of the Netherlands in the first round before moving into the quarter finals against Haruka Tachimoto. Haruka defeated Kelita in what would be a disappointing loss for the Canadian National. Kelita had a second chance as she took on Bernadette Graf in the repechage, but was defeated along with her Olympic hopes and dreams.

Kelita Zupancic's Record!

Kelita Zupancic is one of the most successful Judokas to come out of Canada. She has performed exceptionally well on the world stage with an abundance of Gold medal wins both Nationally and Internationally. Kelita has an incredible veteran record of 214 wins with 128 losses, which is a win rate of 62.6%. One of Kelita's best seasons was in 2014 when she secured a win-loss record of 28 - 11 with a win percentage of 71.8%. Kelita has won a huge amount of tournament medals including 29 Gold, 22 Silver and 33 Bronze. Kelita has compiled a list of accolades that include;

Olympic Qualifier (2016) Pan American Champion (2010, 2013, 2015) Pan American Games Champion (2015) Zagreb Grand Prix Champion (2014) IJF Grand Slam - Baku (2013) Pan American Open Champion - Santiago (2017) European Open Champion (2013) World Cup Champion - Baku (2010) New York Open Team Champion (2019) French Games Champion (2013) Ontario Open Champion (2006, 2008, 2009) Quebec Senior Open Champion (2005, 2007) Canadian National Champion (2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014)

Pan American Championship Runner Up (2014, 2016, 2017) Montreal Grand Prix Runner Up (2019) Hohhot Grand Prix Runner Up (2018) Antalya Grand Prix Runner Up (2018) Tbilisi Grand Prix Runner Up (2018) Paris Grand Slam Runner Up (2013, 2017) Tyumen Grand Slam Runner Up (2014) IJF World Masters Runner Up - Tyumen (2013) IJF World Cup Runner Up (2010) World Cup Runner Up (2011) European Open Runner Up (2014, 2015, 2018) Pan American Open Runner Up (2014, 2015) Canadian Championship Runner Up (2008) Ontario Open Runner Up (2005, 2007) Kelita has also won 24 Bronze medals in World Cup, Grand Slam and Continental events. She has also won 3 Bronze at European events, 4 Bronze at International events and 2 Bronze at Canadian National events.

Kelita Zupancic’s Injuries!

Kelita has been an outstanding Judo athlete for over a decade and along the way she has endured injuries. Being a professional Martial Artist comes with its downsides and there are always knocks and bruises, especially in the sport of Judo. In 2015 Kelita was hampered with a minor back injury that saw her unable to train for the last few weeks heading into the European Cup. To make matters worse Kelita suffered an allergic reaction to her energy drink on the morning of the competition. Kelita would surprise the competition and show her strength by competing well under duress, and secured the Silver medal after losing the final to the Austrian Bernadette Graf. Kelita showcased her passion and dedication to the sport as she inspired many young athletes watching.

Is Kelita Zupancic Retired?

Kelita was expecting to compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but as the covid pandemic postponed the games Kelita had to alter her priorities. She announced her heartbreaking retirement from competitive Judo so she could focus on a new chapter in her life. Kelita and the love of her life, fellow Judoka Travis Stevens got married and began an amazing chapter with the arrival of their first child. Kelita is over the moon with the prospect of becoming a mum and having a family with her long time partner. Kelita still has aspirations to coach Judo as she has vowed to get back to the Tatami mats in due course.

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