First Points, First Statements on the Road to Los Angeles

The final day of the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam 2026 brought an exciting opening chapter of the new Olympic ...

+100 kg: Kim Overcomes the Giants to Claim His First Grand Slam Gold Medal

The heavyweights always attract attention. The public knows that spectacular judo is almost guaranteed ...

+78 kg: Arai Rises as Dicko Falls in a Day of Surprises

She had not travelled to Mongolia to leave without a medal, something that happens extremely rarely in ...

-100 kg: Pirelli Prevails in a Day Full of Surprises

It was a difficult day for many of the favourites in a category that proved particularly open and unpredictable ...

-78 kg: Experience, Surprises and Gold for Lytvynenko

Few could have predicted the final that would unfold in the -78 kg category with the impressive list ...

-90 kg: Murao’s Masterclass Ends with a Ninth Grand Slam Gold Medal

To say that Sanshiro Murao (JPN) was the favourite would be an understatement. The reigning world champion, ...

The Vision Behind the Journey

As the Head Sport Director of the International Judo Federation, Vladimir Barta stands at the very heart ...

Under the Eternal Blue Sky, Mongolia Celebrates Judo

There are some places on the IJF World Judo Tour that carry a special atmosphere. Ulaanbaatar is undoubtedly ...

-81 kg: Joonhwan Lee Ends a Perfect Day with a Spectacular Gold

At just 22 years of age, Timur Arbuzov (RUS) is already firmly established at the top of the World Ranking ...

-70 kg: Shiho Tanaka Confirms Her World Champion Status

The -70 kg category was packed with quality, featuring several world and Olympic medallists among the ...

-73 kg: Ankhzaya Lavjargal Gives Mongolia a Golden Moment

The category delivered exactly the kind of surprises that make judo so captivating, the kind that keep ...

-63 kg: Haruka Kaju Claims Japan's Fifth Gold Medal

One of Mongolia’s greatest hopes for a medal rested on the shoulders of Enkhriilen Lkhagvatogoo (MGL), ...

The Art of a Long Journey

Every athlete present in Ulaanbaatar for the grand slam that opens the Olympic qualification period for ...

Uta Abe: Greatness Built Through Challenge

She was undoubtedly one of the defining figures of the opening day of the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam 2026. ...

Mongolia’s Judo Legacy Starts with Its Children

President Battulga Khaltmaa is a happy and proud leader. The results of years of dedicated work are visible ...

Ulaanbaatar Opens the Olympic Race

The wait is over! After months of preparation and a first part of the season already marked by major ...

-57 kg: Omori Strikes Back to Take the Gold

Fresh from winning her recent European medal, Timna Nelson Levy (ISR) arrived in Ulaanbaatar with the ...

-66 kg: Takeoka’s Precision and Abdulaev’s Ne-waza Mastery Define the Day

The -66 kg category delivered its share of explosive and spectacular judo, with each athlete eager to ...

-52 kg: Uta Abe, Only Uta Abe

There were seeds everywhere in the -52 kg category, many of them arriving in Mongolia after spectacular ...

-60 kg: Aghayev’s Tactical Mastery Stops Nagayama’s Charge

There was tremendous depth in the -60 kg category, which featured world medallists, world champions such ...

-48 kg: Koga’s Control Brings Gold After a Day of Upsets

Shirine Boukli (FRA) arrived in Mongolia full of confidence after an impressive start to the season having ...

The Art of Qualification: Two Years to Reach the Olympic Games

For several weeks now, the global judo community has had one thought in mind: the start of the Olympic ...

The Race to LA 2028 Is Underway

The die is cast. The first battles of this new Olympic era are now known. For three days, the AIC Steppe ...

The Olympic Dream Begins in Ulaanbaatar

It is the moment that athletes and judo fans around the world have been waiting for ever since the final ...

The IJF and Mongolia Sign for Four New Grand Slams

As the Paris Grand Slam was drawing to a close, the future of the World Judo Tour was already being shaped. ...

Julien Goes Around the World (32)

A few days ago, on the occasion of the Cadet World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, we almost bumped ...

Mongolia's Anthem Closes Their Home Grand Slam

Through the first two days of competition at the Steppe Arena in Mongolia’s capital city, Japan extended ...

+100 kg: Batkhuyag Earns Hís Anthem

Coming into the final block of the third and final day of the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam 2025, there was ...

+78 kg: France’s Fontaine Fights Her Way to First Place

The Steppe Arena’s spectators enjoyed a great day of judo, especially keen to support the Mongolian ...

-100 kg: Savytskiy Wins his Second Grand Slam Gold

The two finalists of the day had a great morning session at the Steppe Arena in Ulaanbaatar. Both threw ...

-78 kg: Sampaio Goes Straight to the Top Step

World and Olympic medallist Patricia Sampaio (POR) and triple world medallist Mami Umeki (JPN) laid claim ...

-90 kg: Okada’s O-uchi-Gari Gets the Job Done

In an open category, the first of the final block on day 3 in Ulaanbaatar, it was Umar Bozorov (UZB) ...

-81 kg: Oino’s O-uchi Earns Him the Gold

Unusually, the -81 kg category was not filled with the names we have come to expect. Tato, Matthias and ...

-70 kg: Terada Tears Through the -70 kg Table

The all-Asian final of the -70 kg category promised to be a fierce battle between two judoka who displayed ...

Day Two Delights With Dance, Music and Judo Displays

The opening ceremony is always a welcome moment in the schedule of any high level sporting event, an ...

-73 kg: Odgerel Wins Mongolia’s Second Gold of the Day

This category threw up a lot of surprises and sent unexpected finalists into battle for the first men’s ...

-63 kg: Golden Bold Holds at Home

Some new names have arrived on the World Judo Tour since the Paris Olympic Games, most coming from the ...

Mongolia Delivers on Every Level

The first day of competition at the Steppe Arena in Ulaanbaatar delivered a message of future potential ...

-57 kg: Galitskaia Stretches Ahead of the Rest

The last category of the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam day 1 final block was the women’s -57 kg category. ...

-66kg: Nutfulloev Beats the Odds

The heavier of the two men’s categories of day 1 of the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam, the -66 kg category, ...

-60 kg: An All-Japanese Final

The lightest of the men’s categories delivered a dynamic spectacle during the morning session in the ...

-48 kg: Mitsuki Kondo Takes the First Gold of the Tournament

The final block of the first day at the Steppe Arena in Ulaanbaatar began with the lightest category ...

-52 kg: Fujishiro Takes Gold, Myagmarsuren Steals the Heart of the Home Crowd.

Day 1 of the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam delivered some fast-paced contests in front of an appreciative tribune. ...

Mongolia is Ready!

The Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam 2025 is only hours away. The judoka are making their final preparations, as ...

Yolk Kazirbyek: An Inspired Judoka

Yolk Kazirbyek's family lives near Darkhan city, the capital of the Darkhan-Uul Province in northern ...

Khashbaatar Tsagaanbaatar: I Believe in Our Cadets

Khashbaatar Tsagaanbaatar is a special name in the history of judo; Mongolia’s first world champion. ...

When Reality is Brighter Than a Dream

As editors of the International Judo Federation, we have a duty to hide behind the stories we tell. It ...

Ganbold: 1% Talent and 99% Hard Work

Zagreb is the city of judo right now, for seniors, for cadets, for all judo fans. The Zagreb Grand Prix ...

Technical Analysis, Day 1: Contrasting Dynamics and Tiny Margins

Jose Manuel Cortes (ESP) is now an IJF Referee Supervisor, having completed an exemplary refereeing career, ...

Hajime Is Planted

The day after the closing of the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam, a team from the IJF and the Mongolian Judo Association ...

+100kg: Tasoev To Conclude the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam

Losseni Kone (GER) believed in it almost to the end and he didn't miss much to reach the final, having ...

Mongolia: The Springboard towards the World Judo Masters

The Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam 2023 came to an end tonight with the final five categories in smooth running. ...

+78kg: Tomita Completes the Japanese Collection

The hierarchy was perfectly respected in the +78kg category, since the four best athletes in the category ...

-100kg: Explosion of Joy for Gonchigsuren Batkhuyag

At -100kg some contests were among the toughest of the tournament. We will remember for example, the ...

-78kg: Lanir Proves to Be the Best

All crowned with her world title won in Doha a few weeks ago, Inbar Lanir (ISR) appeared on the tatami ...

-90kg: Gold for Igolnikov

Krisztian Toth was first seed, yet from the first round we felt that it might not be a great day for ...

Technical Analysis: The Reflection of a Job Well Done

Judo has this incredible interest that there is something for everyone. Our sport, as everyone knows, ...

Judo is Addictive and I Love it!

Her face is known to the whole judo family. Indeed, for ten years after the London Olympics where she ...

Technical Analysis: Simplicity and Efficiency

During this second day of competition in Ulaanbaatar, we were delighted to see again beautiful actions ...

-81kg: 4x4 Kohara

The -81kg category began with a thunderclap. We have repeated it enough: this category is uncertain, ...

-70kg: Japan Keeps Winning with Tanaka

Like the three other categories of the day, Japan once again placed an athlete in the final. This year, ...

-73kg: Oyoshi Adds One More Gold for Japan

There was bad weather for the main favourites at -73kg, since apart from Behruzi Khojazoda (TJK), the ...

-63kg: The Last Second Counts for Nami Nabekura

Second in the ranking list and seeded number one here in Ulaanbaatar, Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (CAN), ...

Mongolia, Where it All Starts

The opening ceremony of the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam 2023 took place just before the final block of the ...

-57kg: O Canada!

It was a competition of a very high world level that we witnessed in the -57kg category. There was of ...

Mongolia Set the Tone

The first day of the second edition of the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam was beautiful, flirting with the top ...

-52kg: Primo for a Second Grand Slam Victory

We knew Diyora Keldiyorova was in good shape and performing well. Winner in Tbilisi, with among other ...

-60kg: 10th Gold for Nagayama

Yang Yung Wei (TPE)g is still number one in the world but it's been a few events since things got complicated ...

-48kg: Yoshioka in Pure Japanese Style

Things proved complicated for the top seeds, even if some of them had a second chance for a medal. Thus ...

Technical Analysis: It's All About Risk Management

The first day of the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam 2023 ended in the most beautiful way. If in Kazakhstan, a ...

-66kg: Yondonperenlei Opens the Score for Mongolia

-66kg was the first category for which we knew the composition of the final block. Things went quickly ...

Mongolia 2023, the Turning Point

Exactly one year ago, after several grand prix, the first edition of the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam began ...

Sensei Dambiinyam Maralgerel Passed Away (1972-2022)

While Mongolian cadet athletes earned 2 bronze medals in Sarajevo at the World Judo Championships Cadets ...

Grand Slam Ulaanbaatar: I Was There

The world of sport and judo in particular has suffered enough from the absence of spectators during the ...

From the Mongolian Steppes to the World Judo Tour

Nearly ten years ago, when the first edition of the Mongolian Grand Prix had just ended, we met a very ...

Future of judo in Mongolia

HE Mr Battulga Khaltmaa, former President of Mongolia and the President of the Mongolian Judo Association, ...

Happy Anniversary to Mongolia

While at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam a few days ago, the President of the Mongolian Judo Federation, HE ...

The Passionate President

The President of the Mongolian Judo Association is one of the most engaged and animated federation leaders ...

Urantsetseg Munkhbat: a Tiny Giant

We are seven weeks away from the opening of the Tokyo Olympic Games, just seven weeks! It has taken an ...

Another Victory for Naidan Tüvshinbayar

August 14 will remain a doubly symbolic date for Naidan Tüvshinbayar. In 2008, the Mongolian judoka ...

Summit Meeting Between Chinese and Mongolian Presidents

Mr. Battulga Khaltmaa, President of Mongolia met Mr. Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of ...

Judo In Schools Mongolia

Economic and Sports Cooperation in Vladivostok

The port city of Vladivostok, in the far east of Russia, is home to the Eastern Economic Forum for three ...

Mongolia

Düsseldorf Grand Slam - DAY 1 - Image of the day

During the IJF World Judo Events, every day our photographers offer you to discover the image of the ...

Judo mourns the passing of Mongolian trailblazer

The judo family is mourning the passing of Mongolian legend Tsendiin DAMDIN who has died suddenly at ...

IJF President and the President of Mongolia exchange awards

The IJF President Mr. Marius Vizer and Mr. Battulga Khaltmaa, President of the Republic and of the Mongolian ...

#JudoForTheWorld Mongolia video released

IJF launches its latest and most anticipated film in the hit series

The Inside Story on Mongolian Judo's trailblazers

Mongolia. Its mere utterance evokes images of vast landscapes, diverse nature and wildlife and the truly ...

20 key storylines for #JudoWorlds2017 with 20 days to go

20 for 20 – The IJF presents 20 key storylines for #JudoWorlds2017 as Tuesday 8 August marks 20 days ...

IJF President Congratulates Mongolia’s newly-elected President Mr. Battulga Khaltmaa

Mongolian Judo Association President Mr. Battulga Khaltmaa was officially inaugurated on Monday as the ...

Get involved in Grand Slam week

Grand Slam week is upon us as the IJF World Judo Tour returns with the first Ekaterinburg Grand Slam ...

Baku Grand Slam 2017, Azerbaijan – DAY TWO

All change on day two as all nine gold medals have now been won by different countries at #JudoBaku2017

$50,000 award for end-of-year world leaders

The International Judo Federation has awarded all 14 judoka who ended 2016 as the world number ones with ...

Japanese legend Hosokawa Shinji leads masterclass in Mongolia

IJF Education and Coaching Commission Hosokawa Shinji led a four-day technical masteclass in Ulaanbaatar, ...

Ulaanbaatar Grand Prix 2016, Mongolia - DAY THREE

The Ulaanbaatar Grand Prix 2016, the final IJF Grand Prix before the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, concluded ...

Ulaanbaatar Grand Prix 2016, Mongolia - DAY TWO

The Ulaanbaatar Grand Prix 2016 passed the halfway point on Saturday after a gripping second day of judo ...

Ulaanbaatar Grand Prix 2016, Mongolia - DAY ONE

The Ulaanbaatar Grand Prix, the final IJF Grand Prix before the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, opened in style ...