Senior Judoka took the tatami in Warsaw, Poland to close out February
429 Senior Judoka from 43 countries and 5 continents traveled to Warsaw, Poland during the last weekend of February for the 2023 Warsaw European Open!
France, as always, had a strong performance on the Tatami in Warsaw leading the medal count at the conclusion of the event. 3 Male competitors took home Gold Medals for France; Romain Valadier Picard -60 kg, Driss Masson Jbilou -66 kg, and Max Laborde -90kg. France also saw three competitors garner Silver Medals; Enzo Jean -60 kg, Laura Espadinha -48 kg, Rania Drid -63 kg. No surprises here from France.
The People’s Republic of China came to Warsaw with a strong presence, especially in the -52 kg division, taking home 3 of the 4 medals in that division. Yingwei Liu took home Gold while Ben Liu and Yeqing Zhu earned both Bronze Medals, respectfully. At the conclusion of the event, the People’s Republic of China finished 2nd in the Medal Count, with 6 Bronze Medal winners.
Anna Monta Olek (GER) showed why she is one of the rising stars in the -78 kg division. In 2022, we saw Olek leave her Junior days behind and kicked off her senior career with a Gold Medal at last year's Warsaw European Open. This year, she was looking to defend her Gold Medal and did exactly that finishing her teammate Julie Hoelterhoff (GER) by way of Ippon.
2023 Warsaw European Open Medal Count:
- France - 3 Gold, 3 Silver, 2 Bronze
- People's Republic of China - 2 Gold, 1 Silver, 6 Bronze
- Germany - 2 Gold, 1 Silver, 3 Bronze
- Republic of Moldova - 1 Gold, 2 Silver
2023 Warsaw European Open Results:
Mens Divisions
-60 kg
- Romain Valadier Picard (FRA)
- Enzo Jean (FRA)
- Hakberdi Jumayev (TKM)
- Sherzod Davlatov (KAZ)
-66 kg
- Driss Masson Jbilou (FRA)
- Bence Pongracz (HUN)
- Samuel Hall (GBR)
- Danylo Khlopetskyi (UKR)
-73 kg
- Hassan Doukkali (MAR)
- Adil Osmanov (MDA)
- Luc Meyer (GER)
- Turpal Djoukaev (FIN)
-81 kg
- Victor Sterpu (MDA)
- Damian Stepien (POL)
- Mykhailo Svidrak (UKR)
- Aurelien Bonferroni (SUI)
-90 kg
- Max Laborde (FRA)
- Dorin Gotonoaga (MDA)
- Jamal Petgrave (GBR)
- Thomas Scharfetter (AUT)
-100 kg
- George Udsilauri (GER)
- Zlatko Kumric (CRO)
- Michal Jedrzejewski (POL)
- Laurin Boehler (AUT)
Womens Divisions
-48 kg
- Wenna Zhuang (CHN)
- Laura Espadinha (FRA)
- Amy Platten (GBR)
- Tereza Bodnarova (CZE)
-52 kg
- Yingwei Liu (CHN)
- Roza Gyertyas (HUN)
- Ben Liu (CHN)
- Yeqing Zhu (CHN)
-57 kg
- Julie Beurskens (NED)
- Tihea Topolovec (CRO)
- Qi Cai (CHN)
- Seija Ballhaus (GER)
-63 kg
- Yuliia Hrebenozhko (UKR)
- Rania Drid (FRA)
- Vivian Herrmann (GER)
- Gaetane Deberdt (FRA)
-70 kg
- Gioia Vetterli (SUI)
- Eliza Wroblewska (POL)
- Yingying Feng (CHN)
- Jorien Visser (NED)
-78 kg
- Anna Monta Olek (GER)
- Julie Hoelterhoff (GER)
- Hongtao Wu (CHN)
- Lieke Derks (NED)
+78 kg
- Beatriz Souza (BRA)
- Shiyan Xu (CHN)
- Su Xin (CHN)
- Stessie Bastareuad (FRA)
With that, the month of February in Judo is concluded. March is a busy month for all Judoka. As competition season continues to heat up, be sure to stay updated on all things Judo with the American Judo System. The 2023 Tashkent Grand Slam is up next on the IJF Tour, kicking off this Friday, March 3rd, for the drawing.
