The penultimate day of judo will see the titans go face to face for gold, and for France this might be a monumental day if Teddy RINER is on his A recreation. With three Olympic gold medals – together with the historic Blended Crew win – Riner is among the most adorned, and is trying to impress the house crowds with one other big win and conclude the fairytale.
It received’t be a straightforward trip for Riner although, and the draw received’t be variety to him no matter the place he positioned himself. The heavyweight scene has modified enormously throughout his profession, however one factor is for certain, that concentrate on stays on his again. Main the 2 halves of the draw are present World Champion, KIM Minjong (KOR) and Temur RAKHIMOV (TJK). High seed for Europe is former World Champion and Olympic silver medallist, Guram TUSHISHVILI, the brand new captain of Crew Georgia. Regardless of Tushishvili being a heavyweight, he has actually been one to vary the tide, making this class far more dynamic.
SAITO Tatsuru (JPN) got here shut within the Paris Grand Slam to undoing Riner, although the Frenchman got here out on high ultimately, nonetheless, he is among the main threats to French success. Alisher YUSUPOV (UZB) is in the identical realm, succesful in his greatest motion. Closing out the seeding positions is Masters gold medallist and former European Champion, Martti PUUMALAINEN (FIN), an ideal deal has modified on this previous cycle for the Finnish athlete, and as a fan favorite, he has a substantial amount of followers rooting for his success.
Now, outdoors of the seeding there are robust athletes, however right here to upset the seeding is the present Olympic Champion of the +100kg class, Lukas KRPALEK (CZE). His seeding has been affected as he has competed in each the -100kg and +100kg classes throughout this cycle, leaving the choice to the ultimate moments. Having already achieved Olympic success in each divisions he was freed from strain.
Once more, France could have an ideal probability for glory, this time within the +78kg class from Romane DICKO. The highest seed’s preparation has been good this 12 months, with three consecutive Grand Slam wins, she is on nice type to sort out the Olympic title. It was a disappointing end result for her in Tokyo as a person, nonetheless she nonetheless walked away with the Blended Crew gold, one thing she may even wish to maintain on to this 12 months. Present European Champion, Raz HERSHKO (ISR) leads the opposite half of the draw, and although she hasn’t been as energetic on the tour in 2024, she continues to be one of many strongest on this division and it is going to be robust to cease her on the street to the ultimate, the place she may meet Dicko for a fifth time.
One large success story comes from Kayra OZDEMIR (TUR), it is going to be emotional for her to compete on French soil, however one thing finished loads of occasions earlier than. The 36 year-old, world ranked #3 took her greatest end result to this point solely two months in the past, reaching the ultimate of the World Championships in Abu Dhabi. Europe may boast two extra within the high eight; Rochele NUNES (POR) and Asya TAVANO (ITA) who took the fifth place in Abu Dhabi, an unbelievable feat for the 22 12 months outdated who took her first IJF end result solely final 12 months. It has been a whirlwind expertise as she additionally cleaned up with a Grand Slam gold in Dushanbe.
As many of the classes, there are some harmful outliers; SONE Akira (JPN) and Idalys ORTIZ (CUB) might be simply two of these within the +78kg class, although the likes of Renne LUCHT (GER) received the Tbilisi Grand Slam this 12 months and continues to be ranked #24. It’s all to play for on the seventh day of the judo occasion.
Friday 2nd August: +100kg/+78kg
- Preliminaries
- Begin: 10:00 Finish: 14:00
- Remaining block (repechage, semi-finals, bronze medal contests and last)
- Begin: 16:00 Finish: 19:00
Creator: Thea Cowen
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