María Martínez Murciego
From the tatami to sports management, always as a team.
The tatami was my first school: there I learned that what defines a judoka is getting back on their feet, with discipline, respect and hard work. Over the years, the calling to teach also became service through sports management. Today I work as part of a team, and people trust us because we deliver. What we achieve is the merit of the athletes, the coaches, the families and all the people who walk alongside us. All of us, each from a different role, work toward the same thing: to see Peruvian sport and our people grow.
“The true gold of Peruvian judo is that it got back on its feet.”
“We went from asking for opportunities to offering guarantees.”
“Goals are reached with passion, discipline and love for what you do.”
A tenure in numbers
My root will always be the tatami.
My path in sport began by teaching, and the sensei's calling is still alive in everything I do. I was Peru's national coach through the Tokyo Games and head of the federation's Technical Unit, and what fulfills me most is accompanying our judoka through every stage of their development. From my teacher, José Antonio Terán, I learned that judo is passed on by example, on and off the tatami.
I was born in Spain, and judo brought me to Peru in 2012; over the years, this country became my home by choice and by love. In December 2022, the Royal Spanish Judo Federation awarded me the 7th Dan, and I became the first Peruvian to reach it. I received it with gratitude and dedicated it to Peru, to my family and to those who walk this path with me.
Together we made Peru a benchmark for judo in the region.
In January 2021 I took on the presidency of the Peruvian Judo Federation, the first woman to do so, and for the 2025 to 2028 term the federation renewed its trust in me by unanimous vote. From day one we set out to plan for the long term, put our processes in order and make delivering on our commitments our way of working.
That work bore fruit: today the judo world trusts Peru, and that credibility opens doors for our athletes. Our goal is for that growth to reach every region of the country, so that those who train far from Lima have the same elite conditions, because talent is everywhere in Peru.
The milestones.
A Peruvian voice in Olympic and continental sport.
Under this leadership, and thanks to a great team, Peru hosted a world judo championship for the first time, the Lima 2024 Cadet World Championships, with nearly 500 judoka from 51 countries; and in 2026 we welcomed the IJF Grand Prix Lima, the highest-level judo event ever held in our country. At the same time I have the honor of serving as Secretary General of the Peruvian Olympic Committee and as Development Director of the South American Judo Confederation, adding a Peruvian voice to the growth of sport in the region and around the world.
That they grow into great athletes and good citizens.
I dream of a complete upbringing: girls and boys who are disciplined on the tatami and good citizens off it, who look after their studies and their conduct. I want that opportunity to exist across the whole country, and for the next generation, on the road to Los Angeles 2028, to grow with that same passion, discipline and love for what they do. This path we are building together, and it is only just beginning.
Let's build the sport we dream of, together.
If you share this passion for sport, I would love to hear from you. For institutional matters, the Peruvian Judo Federation is always the best way in; from there we build partnerships, support our athletes and take judo to more places across Peru.