Two reining Paris 2024 Olympic champions come as the top seeds in the -100kg and -78kg categories, both on the hunt for the European title at the upcoming European Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, from 16-19 April: Azerbaijan’s Zelym Kotsoiev and Italy’s Alice Bellandi.
-100kg
Reigning Olympic champion and top seed Zelym Kotsoiev arrives at the head of the field with a point to prove. Despite his Olympic triumph and 2024 world title, the Azerbaijani was denied European gold last year by Georgia’s Ilia Sulamanidze. That clash echoed their Olympic final, where Kotsoiev prevailed, but on European soil the balance tipped the other way.
Now, on Sulamanidze’s home tatami in Tbilisi, the rivalry takes on a new dimension. Their head-to-head stands perfectly poised at 3–3. History adds further intrigue. There has not been a successful title defence in this category for a decade, and a home judoka has not claimed the crown since 1994, when Paweł Nastula triumphed in Gdańsk, then in the 95 kg division. Should Sulamanidze rise to the occasion in front of his home crowd, it would be an epic tiebreaker in an already riveting rivalry.
The depth does not end there.
Seeded fourth stands Russia’s ever-feared Arman Adamian, the 2023 world champion and 2019 European champion. Adamian has beaten every top-seeded opponent in the field and has given Kotsoiev specifically a lot of trouble in the past, leading their head-to-head 6-4.
In any matchup between Kotsoiev, Sulamanidze, or Adamian in the mix, one thing is certain: it is likely to be decided by a moment of explosive, dare we say ‘massive’ action.
Last year’s European bronze medallists, Gennaro Pirelli of Italy and Simeon Catharina of the Netherlands, also return to the stage. Catharina, in particular, draws confidence from his history in Tbilisi, where two of his Grand Slam medals have come, including one just weeks ago. The question is whether he can translate that form into a continental podium once again.
Ukraine’s Anton Savytskiy enters as the number two seed and world number three, following gold in the 2026 Upper Austria Grand Prix, with additional podium finishes in Paris and Guadalajara. He has been a regular presence among the medals on the World Judo Tour since 2024, though a European Championship medal still eludes him.
The most experienced in the mix is 32-year-old Michael Korrel of the Netherlands. A veteran of the circuit, Korrel made his European Championship debut in 2015 and has since collected one gold (2022) and two bronze medals. Tbilisi will mark his tenth appearance at the senior continental championships in one of judo’s most unforgiving categories.
-100kg European champions of the past ten years:
2016, Kazan (RUS): Henk Grol (NED)
2017, Warsaw (POL): Elkhan Mammadov (AZE)
2018, Tel Aviv (ISR): Toma Nikiforov (BEL)
2019, Minsk (BLR): Arman Adamian (RUS)
2020, Prague (CZE): Peter Paltchik (ISR)
2021, Lisbon (POR): Toma Nikiforov (BEL)
2022, Sofia (BUL): Michael Korrel (NED)
2023, Montpellier (FRA): Zelym Kotsoiev (AZE)
2024, Zagreb (CRO): Matvey Kanikovskiy (RUS)
2025, Podgorica (MNE): Ilia Sulamanidze (GEO)
-78kg
In stark contrast to the -100 kg category, where all of the 2025 medallists return, the -78 kg category is guaranteed to crown an entirely new podium.
Defending champion Patricia Sampaio will not be present to defend her title, and interestingly, none of the European champions from the past decade, nor any of last year’s medallists, will feature in Tbilisi.
Yet, much like the heavier category, this division is also shaped by the pursuit of continental gold by an Olympic champion, with one key difference: she has never claimed it before.
Enter: Italy’s Alice Bellandi.
The reigning Olympic and world champion and current world number one, Bellandi, arrives with a résumé that includes nearly everything.
Multiple world medals, a Masters title, five Grand Slam golds among twelve podium finishes, and more than 30 international podiums overall. She has conquered almost every stage the sport has to offer, except the senior European crown.
Her recent continental results suggest a trajectory: bronze in 2022, silver in 2023, and now, after a two-year absence and the addition of the sport’s biggest titles to her collection, she returns with a clear objective: to complete the set.
Standing in her path is Israel’s Inbar Lanir, another athlete of proven pedigree. The Paris Olympic silver medallist and 2023 world champion defeated Bellandi only once in their six encounters, doing so in that world final. The prospect of a rematch looms large. Bellandi leads their head-to-head 5–1, including a victory in the Paris Olympic final, but both athletes are still in search of their first European title.
Three other world top ten athletes will take to the tatami: Great Britain’s Emma Reid, Slovenia’s Metka Lobnik, and France’s Kaila Issoufi.
The recent history of the category reflects its unpredictability, with a wide spread of champions over the past decade, from Audrey Tcheumeo’s multiple titles to more recent winners such as two-time Euroepan champion Alina Böhm. With none of those names present this time, the door is wide open, and a new chapter in the -78 kg story is certain to be written.
-78kg medalists of the past ten years:
2016, Kazan (RUS): Audrey Tcheumeo (FRA)
2017, Warsaw (POL): Audrey Tcheumeo (FRA)
2018, Tel Aviv (ISR): Madeleine Malonga (FRA)
2019, Minsk (BLR): Klara Apotekar (SLO)
2020, Prague (CZE): Madeleine Malonga (FRA)
2021, Lisbon (POR): Beata Pacut (POL)
2022, Sofia (BUL): Alina Böhm (GER)
2023, Montpellier (FRA): Alina Böhm (GER)
2024, Zagreb (CRO): Audrey Tcheumeo (FRA)
2025, Podgorica (MNE): Patrícia Sampaio (POR)
Author: EJU Media