The final day of the European Judo Championships for athletes under 23 in Chișinău produced another wave of memorable moments, history-making performances and six new countries on the gold medal table. Twelve nations in total celebrated titles over the weekend, showing the depth and strength of Europe’s next generation.
In the women’s -70kg category, Ingrid Nilsson of Sweden delivered one of the most emotional victories of the day. Facing Ukraine’s Olga Tsimko, both women reached the biggest final of their careers. Nilsson became only the third Swedish woman ever to reach a European U23 final, following Emma Barkeling in 2014 and Tara Babulfath last year, and just like her predecessors, she converted that opportunity into gold.
From the opening round Nilsson looked focused and confident. She upset top seed Tais Pina of Portugal in the quarter-final, then defeated Anna Oliinyk-Korniko of Ukraine in the semi-final. In the final, she scored a clear wazari after ninety seconds with a perfectly timed o-uchi-gari and never let go of the lead. It was the culmination of a steady rise since her Youth Olympic Festival victory in 2022 and a bronze medal at world level in Sarajevo earlier this season.
“This gold is special for me, for my coaches, and for Sweden,” Nilsson said. “We have shown that Swedish judo can keep winning on the big stage. I am quite tall, which helps my game, but I am working with my coach Sally Conway on many strategies. Today was my day, and my message to the young generation in Sweden and beyond is simple: if you work hard, you can make anything possible.”
Slovenia’s Kaja Schuster claimed bronze after defeating Anna Oliinyk-Korniko of Ukraine, maintaining her lead despite two penalties. It was Slovenia’s first medal in this category since Anka Pogacnik took silver in 2011. Portugal’s Tais Pina recovered from her earlier loss to win the second bronze, overcoming Rebeka Soczo of Hungary with a solid o-soto-gari, returning to the podium at -70kg.
In the -78kg category, Julie Zarybnicka of the Czech Republic achieved a historic triumph, defeating Serbia’s Jovana Stjepanovic in a tense final that went into golden score. Only nineteen seconds into extra time, Zarybnicka struck decisively, steering her taller opponent to the side to score and claim her country’s first ever women’s U23 European title. Until now, all three of the Czech Republic’s U23 champions had been men, the last being David Klammert in 2015.
“I did not know that I was the first woman from my country to win this title,” Zarybnicka said afterwards. “It makes this even more special. I am proud to be an example for Czech judo together with our double senior European champion Renata Zachova. This was only my second tournament since moving up a weight class after injury, so it is really mind-blowing.”
Italy’s Claudia Sperotti took bronze after a convincing win against Finland’s Emma Krapu, while Dutch judoka Lieke Derks claimed the second bronze with a strong uchimata against Anna Kazakova of Ukraine, finishing the match in ninety seconds. It was a fine reward for Derks, the number two seed, who bounced back after losing her opening contest.
In the women’s heavyweight division, 2023 European Junior Champion Paulien Sweers of the Netherlands captured another continental title, defeating Romania’s Roxana Visa in the +78kg final. Despite giving away around fifteen kilograms, Sweers executed her game plan with patience and composure. After a tense four minutes with no penalties, she found her moment in golden score, overturning Visa with a counter from an uchimata attempt to claim victory.
“It feels fantastic,” said Sweers. “This is what I have been working towards all year, and it is amazing that it all came together at such a great tournament. After my junior title, I competed twice more at this championship and lost to strong opponents, but today everything clicked.”
Sweers, now 22, has collected five medals on the European Open Tour, experience that helped her stay calm under pressure. “Every time I fight my rivals, I learn something new,” she added. “Today I stayed patient and believed in the plan. Hard work really pays off.”
Grace-Esther Mienandi Lahou of France claimed bronze after a long contest against Gabrielle Bouvier, both receiving two penalties before the referee gave Bouvier a third. Italian Tiziana Marini earned the other bronze after a quick wazari in just 23 seconds against Turkey’s Duygu Dirgen, securing Italy’s seventh bronze of the tournament.
On the men’s side, Italy continued its strong showing as Manuel Parlati captured gold in the -81kg category. The younger cousin of European Champion Christian Parlati, the 21-year-old dominated throughout the day, defeating Omar Rajabli of Azerbaijan in a gripping final. After both judoka exchanged yuko scores, Parlati sealed victory forty seconds from the end with an o-soto-gari, earning Italy’s first ever U23 title in this weight class.
“This means a lot to me,” Parlati said. “After the disappointment in Lima where I was injured, I worked hard to come back stronger. I was ready this time and took some risks. Maybe next time, at home in Naples in 2026, I will defend my title.”
Austria’s Bernd Fasching won bronze after an emotional battle against close friend Magamed Borchashvili, scoring after 100 seconds of golden score to celebrate his medal on the eve of his 22nd birthday. Georgia’s Kote Kapanadze added another bronze, his third consecutive European U23 medal after gold in 2022 and bronze in 2023.
Home favourite Mihail Latisev came close to retaining his title for Moldova in the -90kg final but was countered by Georgia’s Giorgi Jabniashvili seventeen seconds into golden score. The Moldovan crowd erupted in support despite the loss, showing once again the passion for judo in a country that has produced two Olympic medallists and now a home-grown European finalist.
Germany celebrated a major success when George Udsilauri claimed gold in the -100kg category, becoming the country’s 30th U23 European champion and only the third to win at this weight after Dimitri Peters in 2005 and Dino Pfeiffer in 2010. Udsilauri defeated Fares Mekhoukh of Algeria after the match went into golden score, where a third penalty against Mekhoukh decided the outcome. “I was expecting gold,” Udsilauri admitted. “I have worked for this moment for years. It is great to finally achieve it.”
His twin brother Daniel also fought for bronze, while Slovak Benjamin Mataseje and Frenchman Jean Carletti took the other bronze medals.
The final contest of the championships saw Azerbaijan’s Kanan Nasibov storm to victory in the +100kg division, throwing Poland’s Kacper Sordyl cleanly for ippon after one minute and twenty-three seconds. It was Azerbaijan’s second gold of the event and their eighth U23 European title overall. Nasibov immediately sprinted to embrace his coach, 2013 world champion Elkhan Mammadov, in a fitting conclusion to a spectacular weekend of judo in Chișinău.