Author: Italian Judo
On the first day of competition in Lignano Valerio ACCOGLI (ITA) managed to replicate his success from two years ago. Accogli won in the -66kg category, one of the largest categories in the competition, along with the -73kg. During elimination rounds, Accogli defeated the French athlete Maximilien PETITE, then Rilay RAKOTONDRAMANAGA (SUI) and Alexandru MORARU (MDA). In the semi-final, he prevailed over the German Noel SCHMIDT.
Today I felt very good and in great shape, I faced the competition with a lot of calmness. The goal is always the same: try to approach them with as much tranquility as possible and today I think I succeeded. I expected this result because I work every day to be at this level.
The most challenging match was the final, which ended in golden score, with a victory over compatriot Alessio DE LUCA.
The first day counted six nations climb to the top of the podium in seven categories, demonstrating how level the playing field was. The only national team to bring home two gold medals was Germany, with victories by Nele NOACK in the -63kg and Mathilda Sophie NIEMEYER in the -78kg. Noack had three victories, defeating Adeline MAGNABAL (FRA), Marta VORACEK (CRO) and compatriot Sara-Joy BAUER. The semi-final with the Eva GRASSIN (FRA) was the toughest moment of the competition according to Noack,
Semi-finals are always hard because you can still lose a medal. During the final, you can go with more confidence to fight even better and so that was a point today.
In the final, Noack defeated Joni GEILEN from the Dutch national team, winning the gold medal. Like Accogli, this victory was not a surprise for Noack,
In the last years, there were many competitions, so many European cups. So the goal is always to win a medal and in the best case gold, because if you think about losing, chances are you will lose. Just concentrate on the fight.
Niemeyer’s journey to gold saw her clash with Gracie WILSON (GBR), Lorena PERKOVIC (CRO) and Marie KOSNAROVA (CZE) before reaching the final, competing against Eva Ronja BUDDENKOTTE (GER).
During the final, I feared losing, it was a very hard-fought match, we both projected ourselves several times.
Today’s competition features the male categories -81kg, -90kg, -100kg, and +100kg, and the female categories -52kg, -57kg, and -63kg.
Judoka
Author: Thea Cowen