Anna Monta Olek of Germany and Yelyzaveta Lytvynenko of the United Arab Emirates contested a high-level final between the world number one and number two. Olek, the 2025 world and European silver medallist, has already collected three grand slam gold medals and arrived in Lausanne after a 2026 season that included victory in Astana, silver in Tashkent and bronze in Paris. Lytvynenko, world bronze medallist in 2022 and seventh at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, won the Dushanbe and Ulaanbaatar grand slams this year, adding silver medals to his record in Paris and at the Asian Championships, so this was her fourth grand slam final of the season.
Final, Anna Monta Olek (GER) vs Yelyzaveta Lytvynenko (UAE).
Olek delivered a tactically excellent performance. Having weathered Lytvynenko’s early pressure, she remained patient and countered as soon as the opportunity arose to score a waza-ari. She then added a yuko in ne-waza to secure a thoroughly deserved gold medal.
Gold medallist, Anna Monta Olek (GER).
Anna Monta Olek explained as she walked out of the field of play, “I’m really happy to take a grand slam gold here in Lausanne. The atmosphere was great and having so many fans travel from Germany made it feel like home and gave it a real Olympic spirit. Today felt like my ne-waza day; I won all my preliminary rounds on the ground, which I’ve been working on a lot. In the semi-final, against Sampaio, I kept the pressure on even through four minutes of golden score. For the final against Lytvynenko, I focused on pressuring her early because of my conditioning and that power carried me through. This tournament was a great test run and warm-up for the Baku World Championships.”
Bronze medal contest, Kaila Issoufi (FRA) vs Kurena Ikeda (JPN).
The bronze medal contests completed a particularly strong line-up. France’s Kaila Issoufi faced Japan’s Kurena Ikeda, while Elena Dengg of Austria met Patricia Sampaio of Portugal. Sampaio, an Olympic bronze medallist in Paris in 2024, was seeking another important World Judo Tour podium.
Bronze medal contest, Elena Dengg (AUT) vs Patricia Sampaio (POR).
Issoufi produced a focused and disciplined performance in the first contest for bronze. She countered Ikeda for a yuko and retained her advantage until the final buzzer. In the second bronze medal contest, Sampaio’s experience shone as the Portuguese Olympic medallist secured her place on the podium.
Medals, cheques and presents were presented by Mr Timur Kemell, IJF Guest, and Mr Christoph Santchi, Director of Ecole Mont-Olivet.
Bronze Medal Fights (-78 kg)
