AMSTERDAM, April 2, 2025 - The first quarter of the 2025 judo season is over, and after four Grand Slams and one Grand Prix, it is Japan in the lead, but not necessarily with the top athletes that you’d expect. Japan won twenty of the seventy available gold medals in the IJF World Tour so far, a market share of almost 30%. Looking at the total number of medals, Japan earned 18% of all 270 medals handed out so far in the season. Twenty out of 51 won by men, 31 by women. Also 13 titles were won by Japanese women and 7 by the men.
Still… the real top fighters and Olympic champions haven’t shown their faces yet except for Uta Abe and Natsumi Tsunoda who won their first 2025 appearance outside Japan, at the Grand Slam in Baku. The Baku Grand Slam in February showed a number of strong athletes like Nagayama, Murao, Umeki and Tamaoki. World Champions Goki Tajima and Ryoma Tanaka also won medals in Paris and Baku but couldn’t impress yet. The big IJF blockbuster is the World Championships in Budapest… again Budapest for the third time in 8 years.
Five IJF World Tour events so far
So far the 2025 IJF World Tour delivered a series of thrilling judo competitions, with Grand Slam events taking place in Paris, Baku, Tashkent, and Tbilisi, alongside the highly anticipated Grand Prix Upper Austria in Linz. Throughout these events, the balance of power in international judo was evident, with dominant performances from traditional powerhouses like Japan, France, and certainly the Russian athletes now fighting under the flag of the International Judo Federation. Also Georgia, Uzbekistan and Canada performed well in this pre-season, while emerging talents also made a strong impression in this post-Olympic year.
France and Japan rock Grand Slam Paris
The season kicked off with the Grand Slam in Paris, always a highlight of the judo calendar. The French crowd witnessed stellar performances from their homegrown athletes, though Japan once again proved why they remain the benchmark in world judo. French judoka Romain Valadier Picard captivated the audience with a dominant performance in the U60kg category, securing gold in a tight final. Meanwhile, France’s Martha Fawaz surprised with a strong performance taking gold and Lea Fontaine replaced Romane Dicko in style, claiming another gold medal in the +78kg division. Japan also made their mark, but with other names than the traditional strong contenders. This time Haruka Kaju, Mitsuki Kondo and Kisumi Omori were demonstrating their championship pedigree in their respective weight classes.
Russia shows new generation under IJF flag
Following Paris, the tour moved to Baku, where Azerbaijan’s athletes aimed to capitalize on home advantage. The local fans were not disappointed as Zelim Tckaev triumphed in the -81kg category, while Rashid Mammadaliyev took silver in the fiercely contested -73kg division. The host nation added three more bronze medals, securing a strong showing in the overall standings. Nevertheless, it was Japan that once again dominated, taking home a staggering ten gold medals, reaffirming their grip on the sport. Germany also had a promising outing, with a solid medal haul that included a gold and two silver medals.
Tashkent followed as the next Grand Slam destination, with Uzbekistan proving that its rising judo program is paying off. The standout moment came in the -90kg category, where Shakhzodxuja Sharipov clinched Uzbekistan’s first gold medal of the event, thrilling the passionate home supporters. The heavyweights of Uzbekistan also delivered impressive performances, adding to their growing reputation on the international stage. But the “Russian“ judokas excelled, maintaining their countries’ strong medal presence with six gold medals from a new generation of athletes, including an exceptionally impressive Matvey Kanikovskiy who missed out on the Olympic Games but seems to continue his development as the man to look out for in Budapest at the World Championships in his class U100kg.
Shavdatuashvili sets Tbilisi on fire
The fourth Grand Slam of the season took place in Tbilisi, where Georgia’s renowned judo heritage was on full display. The Georgian team, led by the ever-dominant fighter Lasha Shavdatuashvili, put on a masterclass in both fighting skill and raw power. Shavdatuashvili secured gold in the -73kg category, further solidifying his status as one of the best in the sport. The event also saw a strong showing of Eteri Liparteliani once again with a golden performance U57kg and their female judokas are still making progress in a much more competitive environment as years ago. Many strong countries are developing women’s sport and we saw in this pre-season that even less traditional female judo countries are winning gold medals again such as China, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Slovenia and Portugal. France, as expected, continued to sweep multiple weight divisions in Tbilisi, proving their depth in talent across both men’s and women’s categories although the women again stood out with gold for Amandine Buchard and Romane Dicko.
Japan’s rising stars shine in Linz
The Grand Prix Upper Austria in Linz provided a different challenge, bringing together a diverse field of 416 judokas from 52 countries, more than any of the four Grand Slams. More men, more women, more participants in general but still less than in the two previous editions, simply because we are in a post-Olympic year.
The tournament was a crucial opportunity for many athletes to gain valuable IJF ranking points ahead of upcoming World Championship and Olympic qualification events. Among the most anticipated matchups was the heavyweight showdown between Lukas Krpalek of the Czech Republic and Georgia’s Guram Tushishvili. In a battle of Olympic champions, Tushishvili who made his comeback after a penalty by the IJF, emerged victorious, underscoring Georgia’s strength in the heavyweight category. Also the Italian brothers Esposito were impressive with their first golden sweep as brothers. On the women’s side, Japan’s Iroha Oi secured an impressive victory over Kosovo’s Distria Krasniqi who was simply too greedy in defeating the youngster from Japan. France’s Celia Cancan celebrated her first Grand Prix victory in the +78kg division.
Athletes move up in weight
As the first major tournaments of the 2025 season, Japan reaffirmed its status as the dominant force in the sport, while host nations like Russia (under the IJF flag), Uzbekistan, and Georgia demonstrated their growing strength. With the World Championships looming, the performances in these tournaments highlighted the athletes to watch in the coming months. What will become interesting at the Budapest World Championships is the return of Olympic stars and see what are the real effects of the weight changes for some athletes such as Jessica Klimkait (CAN) who won the Grand Slam in Baku as an early loss in Tbilisi. Interesting was an impressive double victory for Hungary’s Szofi Ozbas who captured gold in Baku and Tbilisi in her new category U70kg while in the previous 18 attempts in U63kg she couldn’t win gold. Sometimes stepping up with new energy isn’t so bad despite the weight, height and power difference. It’s still judo and can be decided with grace, skills and in a split second.
