For almost 13 years, since 2011, when Bernadette Graf won Junior World Championship gold in Capetown, Judo Austria had to wait for a World Championships Juniors title. 4,717 days later, Friday afternoon, redemption came in DUSHANBE (TJK) and the Austrian national anthem finally rang out again. “I cried on the podium, it was an incredibly beautiful moment, especially after such an epidemic year,” beamed Elena DENGG. The 20-year-old middleweight has been plagued by injuries so far this season. A total of four tournament appearances have been recorded to date. “I felt like I was constantly injured: First I dislocated my thumb, then I broke a rib, and most recently I had an outside ligament injury on my left knee. I even had to miss the European Championships Juniors in Tallinn. And in the last few days I’ve been in bed with a cold,” says Elena.
“Of course you’re insecure when you have virtually no tournament experience. It was difficult. Only my mom kept telling me not to lose faith in myself. Mom is usually there at the tournaments. But as a teacher, she couldn’t take time off for Dushanbe. A huge thank you to mom, she gave me a lot of courage.”
Elena is known for her reliability. In the last four years, she had won four junior medals in five years by Friday afternoon, most notably European Championships Junior silver in Prague 2022 and World Championships Juniors bronze last year in Odivelas. “She has improved a lot physically recently, her grip fighting is very good. But what really sets Elena apart is her mental strength,” says ÖJV head coach Yvonne Snir-Bönisch. “If she continues like this, she can even be a threat to Michaela Polleres, world number 2 and two-time Olympic medal winner.”
On Friday afternoon in Dushanbe, the knot burst and Elena finally won her first major title. “Today everything felt so easy for me right from the start. The Ouchi-gari worked straight away and I quickly got into the rhythm. My concept: stay aggressive, use a strong grip.”
She stormed into the final with victories over Holly DEVALL (GBR), Finuza AZAMOVA (IJF), Huiting YUAN (CHN) and Rin MAEDA (JPN). “I was a bit sorry to win the semi-final by disqualification. I would have preferred to win with one throw. On the other hand, rules are there to be followed. It’s happened to me before,” said Elena Dengg.
In the final for World Championships gold, the number five in the IJF junior ranking met an old acquaintance: April Lynn FOHOUO (SUI), 19. Dengg had prevailed in all three previous duels, most recently in the 2023 bronze fights for European Championships and World Championships bronze in The Hague and Odivelas. “We have similar fighting styles. I knew I had to be more aggressive, keep my grip. But it was never as tough as this time.” Net fight time: 7:46 minutes.
In the end, it was the Ouchi-gari again, her signature throw. “I couldn’t believe my eyes how often Elena succeeded with her favorite technique today. She was on a mission and deserved to win gold today,” praised national coach Jaromir JEZEK. The newly crowned U-21 world champion simply said: “It makes me proud to have won the title with a beautiful throw.” Her first big title – now Elena can finally win gold!
Author: EJU Media