It was an inspired team that took to the tatami of the Accor Arena Bercy on day one of the 2026 Paris Grand Slam. The British men all won contests, but this is not the story. The real story was to be found within the quality of those wins.
Michael Fryer, 78th in the world rankings, threw Denis Vieru (MDA), Olympic and double world medallist, an ashi-waza in golden score. Charlie Young defeated Olympic silver medallist Margvelashvili (GEO). Irakli Goginashvili threw 2024 world bronze medallist Lavjargal (MGL) for ippon in his second contest. These are all great wins, especially for a young team; Goginashvili is still a junior.
Then there is the performance of Benjamin Levy; that was something else altogether. Born in Paris but living in London since he was very young, Ben has been close to big medals before but they have escaped him, frustratingly and painfully. So, let’s take his day in Paris step by step:
First he beat 2023 Paris Grand Slam medallist Jaehong An (KOR) putting him into a round-of-sixteen contest against current world champion and Olympic silver medallist, Joan-Benjamin Gaba. Surely that was an impossible task. The crowd in the Accor Arena Bercy would be with their champion and he loves to compete on the biggest stages. Ben’s answer to that prospect, “I was fine with this draw; I like to create upsets and in Paris that was especially motivating. I already knew they would be loud for him but in my mind I decided they were loud for me as this is also my city, my birthplace.”
Then came Kuanov (KAZ), not a big name but someone with a lot of experience. Ben won that quarter-final with a pick-up for a yuko and a lot of intelligent defence and impressive movement. One of Ben’s big strengths is his flexibility, allowing him to move in and out of space fast without risks to his body.
So now the 21-year-old is into a Paris Grand Slam semi-final. He placed 5th in Zagreb last year, his best senior result to date. That position was still available to him in Paris and so this semi-final could mark a turning point in his career. Isn’t that a lot of pressure?
“There has been a build-up from last year that helped me to solidify my self-belief. I was getting on top of the podium rather than just medalling, getting more consistent. It hurt a lot to miss out on some medals, especially at the end of the year, so, here I felt I needed to prove something after those losses. The gaining of confidence over time and also a grudge against myself, they were key.” For Ben, this was not pressure at all.
Manuel Lombardo (ITA) beat Ben in the semi-final, a tiny but well-timed ko-uchi-gari that could easily have been ippon was it not for Ben’s flexibility, again proving to be important when it mattered. In an interview at last year’s world championships, world champion Timur Arbuzov (RUS) cited stretching as one of the key components of his training too; Ben is not alone and there are great judoka ahead of him who provide evidence for the success of this way of thinking.
Having lost the semi-final, a bronze medal contest still awaited, a fight for a place on the podium against double world medallist Ishihara (JPN), 5th in the world rankings. If Ben didn’t feel pressure going in to the semi-final and wasn’t concerned by the crowd and the French world champion, would this prospect disturb him at all? In short, no!
“Gaba and Ishihara are so different in terms of style. I was looking forward to fighting the Japanese more as I can express my judo better against this style. I felt I would have more opportunities to show what I can do. I was looking for the ko-uchi-gari and the seoi-otoshi all day but I didn’t find the seoi until it really mattered. I just missed with those techniques in the semi-final but it came in the end, for the medal.”
A bronze medal is Paris is huge, both for Ben and for his coaches, those at the National training Centre and at his home club in London, the Budokwai. It doesn’t happen by accident though, so why is it now and why is it Ben?
Personal coach David Mesa Rey said, “There has been a long technical programme with the personal coaches, myself and Larry Stevenson, from Ben’s home club in London. Helping players to find their belief is a big part of it too. He came close in Zagreb but still no medal and so winning here in Paris is very special and to beat the world champion and the Japanese on this day shows the quality of Ben’s performance and capability. Today, all that effort came together for him. Winning in Paris is not easy, not ever.”
Ben added, “It feels like it has been a long time coming. I knew I would get a big result; I never had a doubt. It has a lot to do with the thorough support I’ve had from the age of 4 from Larry and David. They came with me to Paris as they always have, it’s more than judo. At this level, mental condition makes a big difference and my coaches have always lifted me.”
Ben believed he could perform and his coaches believed he and all of the team could bring their best work to the Paris tatami. They were not wrong. It was a very positive day showing that capability, team work and belief can produce positive results.