“This was by far the best European Championships ever,” emphasized EJU President László TOTH. The 72nd European Judo Championships (the tenth in France) in facts and figures:
- A total of 486 judoka from 46 nations took part in the European Championships in Montpellier. 423 fights were held in a total of 14 weight classes (7 each for women and men).
- Almost 18,000 spectators were counted over the three days of competition. And this despite the fact that it was the school holidays in France…
- As at the European Championships in Sofia 2022, hosts France set the tone and won no fewer than 9 medals, 5 of which were gold (and 4 x bronze). In comparison, Azerbaijan (2-0-0) and Serbia (1-1-0) came second and third respectively.
- No fewer than eight nations won at least one title and 20 nations won medals.
- 12 title defenders were at the start. Five athletes successfully defended their 2022 title (Shirine BOUKLI/-48, Marie Eve GAHIE/FRA/-70, Alina BÖHM/GER/-78, Romane DICKO/FRA/+78, Hidayat HEYDAROV/AZE/-73).
- The biggest surprise came from Daria KURBONMAMADOVA/-57, who competed under a neutral flag – she was only ranked 39th in the world before the start of the World Championships.
- The 14 European champions also include two world number ones, Denis VIERU (MDA/66) and Hidayat HEYDAROV (AZE/73).
Author: EJU Media