32 World Championship Golds and 8 Olympic Golds from the 520 athletes made this years event a can not miss
Over this past weekend, 520 competitors, 315 men and 205 women from 5 different continents and 82 countries gathered in Paris, France at the Accor Arena (also known as the Bercy) for this year's Paris Grand Slam. This year's event featured an exceptional lineup, with the Paris 2024 Games approaching we got a sneak peak into the energy the building will hold when the time comes.
Paris being Paris, there were champions upon champions there to compete at one of the most prestigious and notorious events in our judo lives. The -90kg division was densely populated with champions including one Olympic champion, Lasha Bekauri (GEO), and 3 world champions: Serbia’s Nemanja Majdov (2017), Dutchman Noel Van T End (2019) and Korea’s Donghan Gwak (2015).
The -81kg division hosted 3 world champions by the names of Grigalashvili (GEO), Casse (BEL) and Muki (ISR). Pool B at -57kg includes two champions with 3 world golds between them, Daria Bilodid (UKR) and Jessica Klimkait (CAN).
Final Medal Count
The host nation of France performed exceptionally well finishing first in the medal count at the conclusion of the event with a total of 11 medals. Here is the list of the top four medal rankings:
- France - 4 Gold, 3 Silver, 4 Bronze
- Netherlands - 2 Gold, 2 Bronze
- Georgia - 2 Gold, 1 Bronze
- Azerbaijan - 1 Gold, 1 Silver, 1 Bronze
Furthermore, here is the complete list of medalists in each division:
Men's Division
-60kg
- Balabay Aghayev (AZE)
- Cedric Revol (FRA)
- Kamoliddin Bakhtiyorov (UZB)
- Harim Lee (KOR)
-66kg
- Bogan Iadov (UKR)
- Erkhembayar Battogtokh (MGL)
- Denis Vieru (MDA)
- Jaehong An (KOR)
-73kg
- Lasha Shavdatuashvili (GEO)
- Daniel Cargnin (BRA)
- Daniyar Shamshayev (KAZ)
- Uranbayar Odgerel (MGL)
-81kg
- Tato Grigalashvili (GEO)
- Timo Cavelius (GER)
- Alpha Oumar Djalo (FRA)
- Francois Gauthier Drapeau (CAN)
-90kg
- Noel Van T End (NED)
- Murad Fatiyev (AZE)
- Ivan Felipe Silva Morales (CUB)
- Luka Maisuradze (GEO)
-100kg
- Michael Korrel (NED)
- Dzhafar Kostoev (UAE)
- Peter Paltchik (ISR)
- Zelym Kotsoiev (AZE)
+100kg
- Teddy Riner (FRA)
- Hyoga Ota (JPN)
- Alsiher Yusupov (UZB)
- Jaegu Youn (KOR)
Women's Division
-48kg
- Blandine Pont (FRA)
- Milica Nikolic (SRB)
- Mireia Lapuerta Comas (ESP)
- Abiba Abuzhakynova (KAZ)
-52kg
- Distria Krasniqi (KOS)
- Reka Pupp (HUN)
- Gefen Primo (ISR)
- Amandine Buchard (FRA)
-57kg
- Priscilla Gneto (FRA)
- Jessica Klimkait (CAN)
- Daria Bilodid (UKR)
- Haruka Funakubo (JPN)
-63kg
- Gili Sharir (ISR)
- Nami Nabekura (JPN)
- Angelika Szymanska (POL)
- Maylin Del Toro Carvajal (CUB)
-70kg
- Ai Tsunoda Roustant (ESP)
- Marie Eve Gahie (FRA)
- Ellen Froner (BRA)
- Kim Polling (NED)
-78kg
- Audrey Tcheumeo (FRA)
- Chloe Buttigieg (FRA)
- Guusje Steenhuis (NED)
- Jeongyun Lee (KOR)
+78kg
- Hayun Kim (KOR)
- Maya Akiba (JPN)
- Dicko Romane (FRA)
- Julia Tolofua (FRA)
All in all, it was a spectacular weekend of judo at the 2023 Paris Grand Slam. The Bercy has an atmosphere and a particular spirit that everyone appreciates at face value. Looking forward to the atmosphere next year at the 2024 Olympic Games!
