Final: Hyeonji Lee (KOR) vs Romane Dicko (FRA)
For the first 2 minutes and 10 seconds Dicko was leading on attacks and looked to be ready to take the win at any moment. Faster to her favourite grip, attacking without hesitation, Dicko looked back at her best form.
However, Hyeonji Lee is as explosive as they come, all her power going into every technique. She turned in with a huge harai-goshi and threw for a waza-ari, transitioning to the osaekomi without delay. Dicko was unable to do anything against the young Korean and as the ten seconds needed to convert her first score to ippon ticked by, both judoka knew the outcome was set.
After the final Lee said, "I am so thrilled to win this world championship title. I feel I managed to deliver a complete and polished performance today. Facing Romane Dicko in the final was a first for me, I felt very nervous beforehand. However, I know I perform well against unfamiliar opponents, so I trusted my abilities and stuck to my own style throughout the contest. It is an immense source of pride to bring this gold medal home to South Korea."
World cadet champion in 2023, world junior champion in 2024 and now the senior world title also belongs to Hyeonji Lee. This teenager is taking on the world and winning!
Bronze medal contest: Asya Tavano (ITA) vs Mariia Ivanova (RUS)
The left versus right situation gave rise to interesting attacks and the possibility for well-practised counters but in this battle Ivanova was more determined.
Asya Tavano attacked with a right-handed uchi-mata, to no avail. Ivanova then mirrored her and put in her own uchi-mata, on the left, but with greater confidence. She drove the Italian to the floor for a yuko and transitioned directly into the hold which she kept until the referee, Mr Olivier Desroses, called ‘ippon.’ Mariia Ivanova was not among the favourites at the beginning of the day but she worked hard for her medal and will be a new name to be wary of as the next competitions come along.
Bronze medal contest: Helena Vukovic (CRO) vs Raz Hershko (ISR)
For the first four minutes this was a very close contest but with moments that looked to be going Helena Vukovic’s way. She attacked well and neutralised the preferred gripping of the world number one.
As soon as the golden score period began, with only a shido apiece on the scoreboard, Raz found a new gear altogether. She attacked with her seoi-otoshi and rolled through it perfectly to score ippon and earn her place on the podium. This is Hershko’s second world championship medal.
Final (+78 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (+78 kg)
