-90kg Gold: Murao (JPN)
Sanshiro Murao was the top favorite here and it showed. About midway through the final match, he attacked Kim Jonghoon (KOR) with his favorite osoto-gari and when Kim resisted, Murao took him back with tani-otoshi for waza-ari. He immediately followed that up with hold-down to secure the gold. This was his 9th Grand Slam victory.
After the match, Murao said: "It’s great to win today but I still have things to work on as I look ahead to the World Championships in October. When I threw my opponent successfully, honestly, I just felt a massive wave of relief. While this is the first step toward the LA Olympics, my focus is entirely on the upcoming world championships in Baku. My goal is to go there and take the gold. To do that, I need to beat my biggest rival, Lasha Bekauri. I’ve never beaten him, so he’s the opponent I want to win against the most.”
-100kg Gold: Pirelli (ITA)
It was a surprise final with the top prospects eliminated. Italy’s Gennaro Pirelli faced up against Russia’s Idar Bifov. Their’s was a tactical match with neither player able to score. In the end it was settled by penalties in Golden Score, with the Italian prevailing.
Said Pirelli: “This success is the result of long-term work, but the turning point came after the heartbreak of finishing fifth in the Paris Olympic mixed team event. That defeat completely changed my mentality and made me train even harder. Since then, I have placed much greater emphasis on mental strength, which I believe is even more important than physical preparation. I am a superstitious Neapolitan, so I prefer to take things one step at a time, focusing on each competition rather than looking too far ahead. The next step will be the Lima Grand Prix in August, followed by strategic preparation with my coaches for major events such as the Baku World Championships. Our Italian mixed team team already has a European silver medal and a World bronze medal, so we strongly believe we have what it takes to reach the top and win gold. At the same time, I have my own personal goal: to go get the red backpatch in Baku.”
+100kg Gold: Kim (KOR)
In the final Kim Minjong scored first with a drop seoi-nage for yuko. Irakli Dematrashvili (GEO) evened up the score by countering Kim’s kouchi-makikomi for yuko. In the end, the match was settled when the Georgian got his third penalty. This was Kim’s first Grand Slam gold medal.
Kim said, “When I started judo at 12, it was just for fun, not for championships. But as I improved and began winning on the world stage, it became deeply meaningful, not just for me, but for my family. Because I am on the shorter side for my weight category, I've had to adapt my style to fight more like a lightweight rather than a typical heavyweight. This evolution has been a major part of my journey and I will keep pushing until I achieve my ultimate goal of winning an Olympic gold medal."
