At the top of the medal table stands Georgia, with three gold medals, two silver and two bronze. It is an encouraging result for a nation which will soon welcome the Para judo world championships. Many of the athletes competing in Heidelberg will meet again in Georgia for the next major international challenge. The Neutral Paralympic Athletes finished with two gold medals, three silver and two bronze, followed by Spain (2-1-1), Ukraine (2-0-1) and Romania (2-0-0). Türkiye collected one gold, three silver and three bronze medals, while France, Azerbaijan, Greece and Italy also heard their national anthems played in Heidelberg.
Beyond the top of the medal table, the figures illustrate the competitiveness of the championships. Of the 23 nations represented, 16 will leave Germany with at least one medal, while athletes from 18 nations finished among the top seven in at least one weight category. The medals may have been concentrated among the strongest teams but competitive Para judo was spread across almost the entire field.
Perhaps the most striking statistic of the weekend, however, concerns the manner in which the contests were decided. An impressive 98.3% of contests ended with a positive score, a figure close to perfection. Even more significantly, 76.9% were decided by ippon. Those numbers reflect what could be seen throughout the two days: athletes looking to score, taking risks and committing fully to their attacks.
Day two added nine more European champions to the list. In the men’s competition, Pavel Selivanov (NPA) claimed the J1 -95 kg title, defeating Great Britain’s Daniel Powell in the final, while Oleg Cretul (MDA) and Oscar Widegren (SWE) took bronze. At J2 -95 kg, France’s Helios Latchoumanaya climbed to the top of the podium ahead of Germany’s Daniel Rafael Goral and Moldova’s Nicolai Bondarev. Georgia added another title through Revaz Chikoidze at J2 +95 kg, where an all-Georgian final saw him overcome Zviad Gogotchuri, with Great Britain’s Jack Hodgson taking bronze.
In the women’s categories, Ukraine enjoyed an excellent day. Anzhela Havrysiuk won the J1 -60 kg title ahead of Natalia Ovchinnikova (NPA), while Anastasiia Harnyk took gold at J1 +70 kg, defeating Nazan Akin Gunes (TUR). Greece celebrated through Theodora Paschalidou, winner at J1 -70 kg, while Gabriela-Cristina Dumitrescu (ROU) prevailed at J2 -70 kg. At J2 +70 kg, Carolina Costa (ITA) took the European crown ahead of Kirsten Taylor (GBR), with Ina Kaldani (GEO) and Dursadaf Karimova (AZE) completing the podium.
Yet if one image were to be retained from the second day in Heidelberg, it would surely be that of Ilham Zakiyev standing at the top of a major international podium once again. The Azerbaijani Para judo legend won the J1 +95 kg European title, defeating Rodrigo Suarez Garrosa (ESP) in the final. Ion Basoc (MDA) and Daniel English (GBR) took the bronze medals.
Zakiyev’s longevity is extraordinary. He became Paralympic champion for the first time at Athens 2004 and defended his title successfully four years later in Beijing. Since then, he has added three more Paralympic bronze medals to his tally, in London, Tokyo and Paris. A three-time world champion too, he has spent more than two decades competing among the very best in Para judo. Twenty-two years after his first Paralympic title, he is still here, still competing, still winning, still European champion.
His victory also provided an appropriate symbol for these championships. As seen on day one with France’s Cyril Jonard, Heidelberg has brought together several generations of Para judoka. There are athletes whose careers stretch back more than two decades, established champions now at the height of their powers and younger competitors determined to become the leading figures of the next Paralympic cycle.
In Heidelberg, the strongest men and women of the moment have shown that they are ready for what comes next. The world championships in Georgia are now only a few weeks away and will provide another important opportunity to perform and collect valuable points on the road to the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games.
Before then, however, there is still one more chapter to be written in Heidelberg. The individual medals have been awarded and the continental champions crowned, but on Sunday the focus will shift from individual ambitions to collective ones with the team competition.
FULL RESULTS
J1 Men -95 kg
- 1. SELIVANOV, Pavel (NPA)
- 2. POWELL, Daniel (GBR)
- 3. CRETUL, Oleg (MDA)
- 3. WIDEGREN, Oscar (SWE)
- 5. GUEYE, Abba (FRA)
- 5. SAFAK, Samet (TUR)
- 7. BERIDZE, Giorgi (GEO)
- 7. NABIIEV, Ilhar (UKR)
J1 Men +95 kg
- 1. ZAKIYEV, Ilham (AZE)
- 2. SUAREZ GARROSA, Rodrigo (ESP)
- 3. BASOC, Ion (MDA)
- 3. ENGLISH, Daniel (GBR)
- 5. BICER, Gokhan (TUR)
- 5. KIPSHIDZE, Ramini (GEO)
J2 Men -95 kg
- 1. LATCHOUMANAYA, Helios (FRA)
- 2. GORAL, Daniel Rafael (GER)
- 3. BONDAREV, Nicolai (MDA)
J2 Men +95 kg
- 1. CHIKOIDZE, Revaz (GEO)
- 2. GOGOTCHURI, Zviad (GEO)
- 3. HODGSON, Jack D (GBR)
J1 Women -60 kg
- 1. HAVRYSIUK, Anzhela (UKR)
- 2. OVCHINNIKOVA, Natalia (NPA)
- 3. USLU HAJABIPOUR, Merve (TUR)
J1 Women -70 kg
- 1. PASCHALIDOU, Theodora (GRE)
- 2. CERNEI, Ina (MDA)
- 3. KLAASSEN, Larissa (NED)
J1 Women +70 kg
1. HARNYK, Anastasiia (UKR)
2. AKIN GUNES, Nazan (TUR)
3. ISMIYEVA, Khatira (AZE)
J2 Women -70 kg
- 1. DUMITRESCU, Gabriela-Cristina (ROU)
- 2. CETE ARTAR, Duygu (TUR)
- 3. VOURLOUMI, Nefeli (GRE)
J2 Women +70 kg
- 1. COSTA, Carolina (ITA)
- 2. TAYLOR, Kirsten (GBR)
- 3. KALDANI, Ina (GEO)
- 3. KARIMOVA, Dursadaf (AZE)
- 5. BLOO, Loes (NED)
- 5. RON, Ayelet (ISR)
- 7. CAMPOS FERNANDEZ, Maria (ESP)