For three days, Europe's top judokas, 386 fighters from 46 nations, gathered at the Sud de France Arena in Montpellier to the delight of judo enthusiasts and to compete for fourteen continental titles. With nine medals, five of them gold and another 4 bronze: the French judo team has solidified itself as the top European nation.

For high-level judo, this encounter represented one of the last major competitions on French soil before the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It allowed several athletes to earn valuable points in the race towards the Games.

423 fights were held in a total of 14 weight classes (7 each for women and men). Almost 18,000 spectators were counted over the three days of competition. The 72nd European Judo Championships (the tenth in France). “This was by far the best European Championships ever,” emphasized EJU President László TOTH. 

Just like in the 2022 European Championships in Sofia, the host country France set the tone and won no less than 9 medals, 5 of which were gold (and 4 bronze). In comparison, Azerbaijan (2-0-0) and Serbia (1-1-0) finished second and third respectively.

No fewer than eight nations won at least one title, and 20 nations won medals. At the beginning, there were 12 title defenders. Five athletes successfully defended their 2022 title (Shirine Boukli/-48, Marie Eve Gahie/FRA/-70, Alina Böhm/GER/-78, Romane Dicko/FRA/+78, Hidayat Heydarov/AZE/-73).

The biggest surprise came from Daria Kurbonmamadova/-57, who competed under a neutral flag: she was only ranked 39th in the world before the start of the World Championships. Among the 14 European champions, there are also two world number ones, Denis Vieru (MDA/66) and Hidayat Heydarov (AZE/73).

WOMEN-48 kg: Shirine Boukli (France) -52 kg: Amandine Buchard (France) -57 kg: Daria Kurbonmamadova (Russia) -63 kg: Andreja Leski (Slovenia) -70 kg: Marie-Eve Gahié (France) -78 kg: Alina Boehm (Germany) +78 kg: Romane Dicko (France)

MEN-60 kg: Luka Mkheidze (France) -66 kg: Denis Vieru (Moldova) -73 kg: Hidayat Heydarov (Azerbaijan) -81 kg: Vedat Albayrak (Turkey) -90 kg: Nemanja Majdov (Serbia) -100 kg: Zelym Kotsoiev (Azerbaijan) +100 kg: Martti Puumalainen (Finland)