In With the Old and in With the New

At -78kg, there was a surprise new world champion, as Israel’s number 4 seed Inbar Lanir defeated 2011 world champion Audrey Tcheumeo of France in the final. Italy’s world number 1 Alice Bellandi had to settle for bronze; she was joined by the veteran Guusje Steenhuis (NED) in taking the 3rd place on the podium.

There was also a new world champion crowned at -100kg, as former world number 1 Arman Adamian (AIN) took the gold medal, overcoming the Czech legend Lukas Krpalek in the final. The first bronze was won by Zelym Kotsoiev (AZE), who claimed his second world bronze after also making it onto the podium in Tashkent last year. The other bronze medal in the category went to Peter Paltchik, a first for him and the second medal of the day for Israel, and indeed the championships so far.

Three-quarters of the competition has now passed and day 6 saw yet more change in the overall standings. Today’s gold and bronze medals saw Israel join the leaderboard at a later stage than expected. The top of the table remains unchanged with the exception of Israel’s presence; they jump ahead of Spain and Switzerland into 5th place. With Georgia’s world number 1 at -100kg, Ilia Sulamanidze, failing to take a medal at these championships for the second year running, they will need a few miracles in order to catch them now. Japan’s victory is all but confirmed but the race to finish 2nd is still well and truly on. Will it be France or Georgia?

Day 7, the final day of individual competition, will see many great heavyweight champions take to the mat, including 10-time world champion Teddy Riner (FRA), as the +78kg and +100kg categories compete for world championship glory. Don’t miss out; watch all the action live from 11:30 local time on judotv.com. It promises to be something special.

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