European Judo Championships Sofia 2022 - Sofia, Bulgaria
There have been many surprises on the final day of the European Judo Championships in Sofia. Romane DICKO (FRA) is the only top seed to have made it in to the final, and while we see the big names and favourites losing out, we see the new generation pushing through. …
1 May 2022European Judo Championships Sofia 2022 - Sofia, Bulgaria
“It feels really good to have spectators back on the tribune. The atmosphere in Sofia was excellent, so was the sportive level of the European Championships. I can only congratulate Rumen STOILOV, President of the Bulgarian Judo Federation, and his team for the excellent job. The 70th edition of the…
1 May 2022European Judo Championships Sofia 2022 - Sofia, Bulgaria
Double Olympic champion Lukas KRPALEK has been presented on Friday as the EJU Best Male Athlete of 2021. The 31-year-old talks in the award interview, in this two-part piece, why he could not stay in Sofia, Bulgaria to watch his +100kg opponents and who he expects to rise for glory…
1 May 2022European Judo Championships Sofia 2022 - Sofia, Bulgaria
Each of the gold medallists today have endured a struggle of some sort; weight changes, difficulties against a particular opponent, or even just a spell of not being able to fulfil their potential, but today they all turned it around and managed to hear their national anthem atop the European…
30 April 2022European Judo Championships Sofia 2022 - Sofia, Bulgaria
“It’s great to see the European Championships debut in Bulgaria. They have a long Judo tradition and are consinstantly winning medals at top-level and it is no surprise, that they also clinch medals in front of their home crowd”, emphasized IJF President Marius VIZER at his visit in the Bulgarian…
30 April 2022European Judo Championships Sofia 2022 - Sofia, Bulgaria
EJU Award 2021 for the best male athlete goes to… LUKAS KRPALEK Due to a shoulder and neck injury, double Olympic champion Lukas KRPALEK decided to skip the European Championships in Sofia. He still made the journey on Friday to the Bulgarian capital, in order to receive the EJU Award…
30 April 2022European Judo Championships Sofia 2022 - Sofia, Bulgaria
-48kg Shirine BOUKLI (FRA) vs Catarina COSTA (POR) It started as a difficult head to head for Boukli and Costa, neither seemed able to find a way in to score, unfortunately this meant that the shidos began to rack up for both athletes. With little time available on the clock…
29 April 2022In the sea of Azeri tracksuits, you will find the usual suspects, the athletes have not changed, but the coaching staff has. Following the Olympic Games in Tokyo, results did not meet expectations and so a new team has been built to change the trajectory for Paris 2024. Enter Richard…
29 April 2022European Judo Championships Sofia 2022 - Sofia, Bulgaria
First day of the European Seniors Championships in Sofia (BUL) and the host could already clinch the first medal. The home crowd in the Armeec Arena has dreamed of the first European title for Bulgara since 1981 (Georgi Petrov, -78). Yanislav GERCHEV came close. He defeated on his way to…
29 April 2022European Judo Championships Sofia 2022 - Sofia, Bulgaria
The senior European Judo Championships 2022 are staged in Sofia, Bulgaria, from Friday to Sunday. It’s the 70th edition of the EJU Prime Event and the first one organised by the Bulgarian Federation. It’s a great pleasure to host 361 top-judoka from 40 countries. For us it will be a…
28 April 2022European Judo Championships Sofia 2022 - Sofia, Bulgaria
There is a fantastically strong line up in the +78kg women’s category this year. Romane DICKO (FRA) sits atop of the list, both as number one seed and ranked number one in the world. The 22 year-old has already achieved so much and is coming to Sofia in search of…
28 April 2022László TOTH will be the only candidate for presidency at the Extraordinary Congress in Vienna on 17th of June. The 62 year-old was asked by interim EJU President Otto KNEITINGER to run for presidency. After a couple of hours and talks with IJF President Marius VIZER he said yes. Only…
27 April 2022European Judo Championships Sofia 2022 - Sofia, Bulgaria
The number one seed and favourite for the European title 2021 is Guram TUSHISHVILI (GEO). After a break following the Olympic Games where he placed second, he has succeeded in two grand slam events, looking strong as ever. He already has two senior titles but on the past two attempts…
27 April 2022European Judo Championships Sofia 2022 - Sofia, Bulgaria
The -78kg category is a true mix of the veteran athletes and the up and comers. Coming for that European title are the likes of Alice BELLANDI (ITA) and Inbar LANIR (ISR). Both have demonstrated their capabilities on the IJF tour with numerous medals and will certainly be a threat…
26 April 2022European Judo Championships Sofia 2022 - Sofia, Bulgaria
Despite rumour, Varlam LIPARTELIANI has not left the building. Though his post-Tokyo social media delivery certainly gave the impression that the team captain of Georgia was taking a step away from competition, we soon noticed him back in the Bundesliga and in the European Club Championships – Champions League in…
25 April 2022Dubrovnik Senior European Cup 2022 - Dubrovnik, Croatia
There were many strong athletes competing this weekend in the Dubrovnik Senior European Cup, but in the end, Azerbaijan managed to secure the most gold (four), and totalled five, whereas Germany really gave an impressive show, leaving the tournament with 12 medals, (three gold, two silver and seven bronze). Home…
24 April 2022Strasbourg Cadet European Cup 2022 - Strasbourg, France
The expectation was high for the French team, competing on home soil and with a tremendous entry in the Strasbourg Cadet European Cup 2022. Coming in to the tournament, eight of the weight categories were headed by French athletes, and the team finished top of the medal table with exactly…
24 April 2022European Judo Championships Sofia 2022 - Sofia, Bulgaria
Reigning European champion, Sanne VAN DIJKE (NED) is coming in strong as the #2 seed and is certainly one to beat for the rest of the women in this category, including the #1 seed, Barbara MATIC (CRO). The pair have looked solid in their preparations for Sofia on the IJF…
24 April 2022
European Judo Championships Sofia 2022