The presence of major champions has become a tradition at the Aurel Cîmpeanu Memorial International Judo Tournament in Romania. Acting as additional motivation for the participating young judoka who, experiencing the emotion of the competition, the joy of receiving a medal or the disappointment of an undesired result, these superstars give them the unique chance to share the tatami and learn from judo legends.
This year, Ukraine’s Daria BILODID, the youngest winner of the Senior World Championships in the history of Judo, stole the show at the age of 17, and was the special guest of the tournament. Bilodid has now been added to the list of tremendous personalities who have graced the competition in past editions, including MARUYAMA Joshiro, Idalys ORTIZ, Georgii ZANTARAIIA, Ilias ILIADIS, Fabio BASILE and Asley GONZALEZ.
Over 700 athletes from 51 judo clubs in Romania, Republic of Moldova, Türkiye, Bulgaria and Ukraine participated in the two-day event. The 2024 edition saw U16 and U18 divisions for young men and women, as well as a senior men’s open competition, and then more than 250 athletes of different ages, participated in the judo seminar held by Bilodid on the following day. It was an occasion of great joy to be on the tatami for the participants of the seminar, who learned some of the secrets from the current senior European Champion, who gave technical demonstrations followed by rounds of randori and exercises with those present. The organisers also had a surprise in store for Bilodid, celebrating her birthday with a presentation of flowers and cake.
The presence of a champion like Bilodid at the competition in Focșani, the advice and practical demonstrations from the seminar, will be an inspiration and will have an important impact on the next steps in the career of the young judoka.
The performance of the sports event was also completed by the participation of two legends of Romanian judo, European Champion and two-time World medallist, Adrian CROITORU and Olympic Champion and eight-time European Champion, Alina DUMITRU, who were again present in the Multipurpose Hall in Focșani and enjoyed the attendance, signing autographs and taking pictures with the young athletes.
Judoka
Author: Thea Cowen