It was therefore without great surprise that we found the two judoka in the final, after fast victories in the preliminary phases. In the semi-final, Boehm defeated Lieke Derks (NED), while Olek eliminated Yuliia Kurchenko (UKR).
It's never easy to compete against a teammate, especially when the supremacy of the category in your own country is at stake. A first shido was awarded to Olek for passivity in the first half of the contest. With less than a minute to go, Olek was penalised again but was then close to scoring; time for golden score. At the beginning of extra time, Boehm received one penalty just before she was thrown for a yuko with a subtle de-ashi-harai. Germany wins both gold and silver!
The first bronze medal contest saw Elisavet Teltsidou (GRE), in her first appearance at -78 kg, face Yuliia Kurchenko (UKR), who was trying to get a fourth grand slam medal. After a few penalties, the contest really started with Teltsidou scoring a first yuko. It didn't take long for the Greek judoka to engage a second hip movement, this time catapulting Kurchenko on to her back with force, speed and control, a clear ippon for a bronze medal.
2015 world champion Mami Umeki (JPN) had to settle for a chance to win a bronze medal only, against Lieke Derks (NED). A first ippon-ko-uchi-gari from Derks sent Umeki to the floor for a waza-ari. Then the Japanese judoka concluded there with an armlock for ippon, destroying Derks' dream of a medal.
Final (-78 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-78 kg)
