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Judo Grand Prix in Linz: Legends meet in Upper Austria

On the third and last day of the Judo Grand Prix in Upper Austria it was finally the turn of the heavyweights.

In the 90 kg category Krisztian Toth and Axel Clerget met in the final. Toth won the fight, but as both the Hungarian and the Frenchman showed a lot of respect for each other (watch it in the video above), almost both could be considered winners.

In the 78 kg category, former world champion Anna-Maria Wagner from Germany and Madeleine Malonga from France faced each other in the final. Wagner finally secured the gold medal with a hold – her joy at her success was great: “It was really cool, a lot of people came from Germany, my parents were here too, that was really nice. In the final I heard people cheering for me, that was cool. “

Brazilian Leonardo Goncalves was in captivating form all day. His lightning fast attack in the final against Louis Mai from Germany brought him the gold medal in the 100 kg category.

In the over 78 kg category, gold went to Ruri Takahashi from Japan, who was not to be beaten by Asya Tavano from Italy, especially in the ground work.

Two-time Olympic champion Lukas Krpalek from the Czech Republic won gold in the over 100 kg class against Germany’s Losseni Kone – after he had only competed up to 100 kg at the World Championships a fortnight ago.

“I like the Austrian people, the atmosphere and also the Austrian league,” Krpalek said later. “That is the reason why I came here and why I am competing here. Because I love every competition that takes place in Austria.”

The local fans were hungry for medals and the Austrian team did not disappoint, such as Thomas Scharfetter, who showed terrific judo. The fans thanked him and all the judoka with wide recognition – at the first Grand Prix in Upper Austria.

By Julian