Day Three of the European Judo Championships Veterans Riga 2025 saw continued dominance from the French team, who doubled their overall medal tally from the previous days, concluding the day with an impressive haul of 25 gold, 28 silver, and 35 bronze medals. Georgia made a strong leap into second place with a current tally of 13 gold, 14 silver, and 13 bronze, while Germany now holds third position in the overall standings with 10 gold, 8 silver, and 15 bronze. Today’s programme was headlined by the women’s individual divisions, all of which took place throughout the day, with the M1 and M2 men’s categories also joining the action.
Several nations had reason to celebrate today as they secured their first medals of the tournament, none more so than the host nation, who had the honour of hearing their national anthem played twice. Victories from Aigars Milenbergs (M2, -90kg) and Viktor Resko (M2, +100kg) made those proud moments possible. Switzerland also made its mark with a standout performance from Laurence Mudry, who claimed the country’s first, and thus far only, gold medal in the F2 -63kg category. In addition, Israel and San Marino joined the winner’s team, following the strong showings from Ido Elkayam (M2, -66kg) and Jessica Zannoni (F3, -78kg), respectively.
Speaking of the latter, Zannoni delivered a solid performance in her division. Despite a loss to French judoka Stéphanie Gobert in the round-robin format, she secured the top spot on the podium and claimed her second continental gold medal at the veterans level. Although the Games of the Small States of Europe are just days away, Zannoni will not be competing, as her weight category does not feature in the official programme. Nonetheless, she shared her thoughts on today’s achievement: “I felt really good today. After being inactive for a while, I wasn’t sure what to expect or how things would go, but as soon as I got started, I found myself falling back into rhythm. Everything came together more smoothly than I anticipated, and it felt great to be back.”
Maha Aida Guemati is a familiar face at this event, and at 59 years of age, she continues to push boundaries. Her latest challenge was overcoming an injury in order to compete in Riga. Stepping outside her comfort zone, the Italian judoka took on the added test of competing in a weight category above her usual division, demonstrating both resilience and determination.
“Last year was particularly difficult. I suffered a knee injury and was out for almost eight months. I tried to come back several times, but it was a real struggle, I ended up in hospital twice. It was a back-and-forth situation. Still, I told myself I wanted to continue. I returned to competition about a month ago in Italy and set my sights on the European Championships.
“This time, I decided to compete in the -70kg category, although I usually fight at -63kg. In the past, I have fought in both categories, and I didn’t want to compete against the same people again, or go through the process of cutting weight. So I made the switch.
“This is my first gold in the -70kg category in quite some time. In fact, the last time I competed at -70kg was probably back in 2005, nearly 20 years ago. From 1998 to 2005, I regularly fought at that weight. Today felt easy in comparison, partly because I didn’t have the added pressure of making weight. I am really happy, my mind was clear, my knees held up, and I truly enjoyed myself.
“What keeps me going is my passion for judo. I genuinely love it. I enjoy performing proper technique and good judo. I am now teaching children, and watching them grow is incredibly rewarding. I believe we have to lead by example, and so I told myself, ‘I must come back with at least one gold medal, if not three.’ Tomorrow, we have the team competition and ne-waza, so I need to show if I can do it, they can too.”
The final day of the championships will feature the remaining ne-waza contests across categories M4–6, M7–9, F4–6, and F7–9. In addition, the much-anticipated team events will finally take centre stage, promising an exciting conclusion to the competition. All matches will be streamed live online at JudoTV.com.
Author: Szandra Szogedi