A gold, silver and bronze Olympic medal. That is the legacy of Lasha SHAVDATUSHAVILI, who entered the Georgian history books with the Olympic title in London 2012. Now his fourth Olympic cycle, 12 years later and he is far from done. Albeit it now he has more major contenders. Leading the -73kg men is Hidayat HEYDAROV (AZE) who has engulfed the category and been on a winning streak. It seems very few could knock him off his game right now and he will have Azerbaijan’s 2008 -73kg Olympic Champion – turned coach – Elnur MAMMADLI in his corner.
Since Japan’s ONO Shohei’s retirement, HASHIMOTO Soichi has stepped up to the plate and with a world ranking position of #2, he is most certainly one to watch. History-maker, Nils STUMP took the World title for Switzerland in 2023 but was forced to take time off to tend to injury but came back with a Grand Slam win and third place finish in the World Championships this year, and in third seeding position. Manuel LOMBARDO (ITA) follows closely behind and this will be, as Brazil’s -66kg Olympic bronze medallist, Daniel CARGNIN, his first Olympic cycle in this category which has proven to give him the strength he needed. In Tokyo it was a bittersweet 5th place finish, suffering defeat to AN Baul (KOR).
The hype that has followed the Pan-American duel between Christa DEGUCHI and Jessica KLIMKAIT has been astounding in the -57kg category, world ranked #1 and #2, both from Canada is an extraordinary feat, however their Olympic Committee could send only one, and in the end, it was Deguchi. Current World Champion, HUH Mimi (KOR) follows behind in the second seeded position with the 2016 Olympic Champion, Rafaela SILVA (BRA) on her tail. Europe’s top seeded athlete is also France’s Sarah Leonie CYSIQUE, the Tokyo Olympic silver medallist, and a crucial point winner in the Mixed Team event which saw France make history. Stakes are high but this top athlete will use the pressure to her advantage.
Seeding positions #6, #7 and #8 have been fought for and claimed by further European strength; Eteri LIPARTELIANI (GEO), Tokyo Olympic Champion, Nora GJAKOVA (KOS) and Marica PERISIC (SRB). It has been an incredibly tough road for the Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist in the -48kg category, Daria BILODID (UKR), adjusting to this new weight category but she battled back to the top and took gold in the most recent European Championships, proving she is ready for yet another Olympic trial.
Monday 29th July: -73kg/-57kg
- Preliminaries
- Start: 10:00 End: 14:00
- Final block (repechage, semi-finals, bronze medal contests and final)
- Start: 16:00 End: 19:00
Judoka
Author: Thea Cowen