-70 kg: Fohou Seeks to Upset the Natural Order
One seeded athlete made it to the final, the number one, Szofi Ozbas (HUN). Another made it to the final block to fight for bronze, Ai Tsunoda Roustant (ESP), after losing to current junior world champion April Lynn Fohou (SUI) in their quarter-final.
Ozbas looked to be beatable at first, still fairly new to the weight category, but she has a way of twisting and turning every risk into an advantage. Her feeling for judo is unrivalled; it’s her superpower!
There were a number of notable losses in this category, beginning with French hope and serial junior milestone medallist Melkia Auchecorne who lost out to Rin Maeda (JPN) in the round of 32. Maeda went on to beat double Olympic medallist Polleres (AUT) too, before losing to Ozbas.
World medallist Teltsidou (GRE) lost to the other Swiss athlete in the group, Gioia Vetterli. Olympic silver medallist Miriam Butkereit (GER) lost to unseeded Israeli Adelina Novitsky. Olympic and triple world medallist Sanne Van Dijke (NED) was another who lost to lost to Fohou.
With so many of the biggest names in the category leaving early, the final podium line-up was anyone’s guess; every round produced a new idea, a new surprise, except for Szofi! Szofi obeyed her ranking perfectly. Was there any way for Fohou to defeat her?
Final:
Szofi Ozbas (HUN) vs April Lynn Fohou (SUI)
Bronze medal contests:
Rin Maeda (JPN) vs Tais Pina (POR)
Ai Tsunoda Roustant (ESP) vs Irene Pedrotti (ITA)
-78 kg: Can Bellandi Just Keep Winning?
There is some serious quality in this category! We can begin with Guusje Steenhuis (NED) using makikomi to defeat Issoufi (FRA), the first of the French athletes to fall on day 2. It was short-lived elation for the Dutch judoka though as she lost out to one of the German powerhouses of the category, in the next round.
Alina Boehm (GER), double European champion, spent the last Olympic cycle battling against Anna-Maria Wagner for the German olympic place and did not win. This cycle she is up against domestic rival Anna Monta Olek and there is still no guarantee of success. Olek is in Paris too and went one round further than Boehm in the preliminaries. However, not for the first time in their careers, they have ended up dropping into the same bronze medal contest; Boehm lost in the quarter-final on one half while Olek lost the semi-final on the other half of the draw.
World medallist Emma Reid came unstuck against Lytvynenko (UAE), a de-ashi-harai and a pick-up used to secure victory. Another world medallist is therefore out, opening the draw for others. Lytvynenko went on to beat Cardona (CUB) before facing one of the most formidable fighters of French judo, Audrey Tcheumeo. Lytvynenko beat her too, countering her twice for valuable yuko scores.
Audrey may not have made it to the Paris final this year but her record is unfathomable: 9 Paris Grand Slam medals including 6 gold, 5 European titles, 2 Olympic medals and 4 world medals. How many athletes from any sport can amass such results? At 35 she continues to compete and most importantly she continues to love it. A medal at the 2026 edition would be her tenth, an incredible milestone!
Alice Bellandi began her day with a bye, a reward for seeded athletes. She passed all on her way to the final, including Boehm.
France’s Ngelebeya wanted to impress under the roof of the Accor Arena and faced with the prospect of fighting Olympic and world medallist Patricia Sampaio, she might have that opportunity. The crowd saw it coming and increased their volume second by second. Ngelebeya scored a waza-ari with an uchi-mata but still had time to lose. Sampaio came back strongly and threw but only for a yuko. The Frenchwoman attacked in ne-waza, eating time and then the spectators began their countdown. Ngelebeya had done it!
As if beating Sampaio wasn’t enough, Liz Ngelebeya then beat Olympic and world medallist Zhenzhao Ma (CHN) to set up a semi-final against Bellandi. That fight was a step too far but the chance to fight for a bronze medal in Paris was a dream come true for the 23-year-old. Until now she has had no success on the World Judo Tour. In Paris in 2026 she will finish among the best 6 athletes of the category, no matter what happens in the final block. She can be proud of her work today.
Final:
Yelyzaveta Lytvynenko (UAE) vs Alice Bellandi (ITA)
Bronze medal contests:
Audrey Tcheumeo (FRA) vs Liz Ngelebeya (FRA)
Alina Boehm (GER) vs Anna Monta Olek (GER)
+78 kg: La Marseillaise is a Certainty
There were some great moments in the women’s heavyweight category in Paris, some from the very strong French contingent but several came from elsewhere. Joaquina Carlos Silva (ANG) countered a makikomi attempt from Chang (TPE) to earn herself an ippon win and valuable points on the World Ranking List. Silva’s teammate Fernanda Quimbira also won her first fight, throwing Zeineb Troudi (TUN) for ippon.
Silva’s next contest was different though, a match-up with the current world champion Hayun Kim (KOR). Silva gave it everything and threw impressively for a yuko, one which didn’t seem to faze her more experienced opponent. Kim threw and held with ease, seemingly irritated by the throw against her.
The Angolan team is taking big steps forward. More travel, more experience and more exposure to the top level is beginning to have an impact. Their team took medals at the recent Casablanca African Open and in Paris they have registered important wins. This is a team on the rise; let’s keep watching them.
Another African country with early success was Egypt. Safa Soliman is fast becoming a name to watch. A 2024 junior world medallist, still a teenager and already a final block appearance at the Tokyo Grand Slam, she threw her Chinese opponent with makikomi and then calmly protected her score for the remainder of the time; a mature and considered approach.
Romane Dicko, world champion and Olympic medallist redressed the balance though, throwing and holding Soliman for ippon. The French heavyweight women should always be counted on to take big medals on the biggest days and in Paris there are four of them to contend with, all of them with outstanding records.
The French team didn’t have it all their own way though. Two Korean entries, one the world number 1, according to the rankings, and the other the current world champion, would want their piece of the pie, as would Japanese pair Tomita and Arai. Tomita lost in the first round though, a shock defeat at the hands of energetic New Zealander Sydnee Andrews; a massive ko-soto-gake registered ippon. Andrews went no further but wow, what a win!
The quarter-finals offered up exactly the level of contest we might expect, with Korea, Japan and France all having the chance to win gold. Hyeonji Lee (KOR) then beat Celia Cancan (FRA), Julia Tolofua (FRA) beat Helena Vukovic (CRO), Romane Dicko (FRA) beat Mao Arai (JPN) and Lea Fontaine (FRA) beat Hayun Kim (KOR). And so, the host nation took three out of the four semi-final places.
Tolofua was emotional after winning her semi-final. She has had several seasons of injury, of just missing out on big selections; to fight for a medal, the gold medal, in Paris brought relief, satisfaction and motivation. In the final, Tolofua would face Romane DIcko, an all-French encounter to ensure the La Marseillaise would ring out in the Accor Arena Bercy at the end of the second and final day of the 2026 Paris Grand Slam.
Final:
Julia Tolofua (FRA) vs Romane Dicko (FRA)
Bronze medal contests:
Celia Cancan (FRA) vs Lea Fontaine (FRA)
Mao Arai (JPN) vs Hyeonji Lee (KOR)