Kari Neuvonen started judo in 1969 in his hometown Joensuu, Finland. He competed on a national level at juniors and seniors winning three medals at Finnish Championships. In 1976, he received his 1 dan and in 1977 began his national refereeing career. After the military service and studies, he moved…
13 May 2021Essimo
The EJU is proud to announce the new partnership with ESSIMO. Today the CEO, Patrick van Kalken, signed the new PREMIUM PARTNER contract. The former Dutch athlete took a bronze medal in the 1999 World Championships and retired from competitive judo following the Olympic Games in Sydney, 2000. However he…
12 May 2021COVID KEEPS
The world pandemic has seen a change in training, how and where we can continue to train. For many, there isn’t always equipment available but coaches have found new and innovative ways to keep in contact with their students and allow for the continuation of movement. The second edition of…
11 May 2021The French certainly have a trend, some of the most successful athletes transition in to a position to produce more successful athletes, passing on their wisdom. This is certainly the case for Olympic and World Champion, Séverine Vandenhende. Séverine started judo at the age of eight in a judo club…
9 May 2021Grand Slam - Kazan, Russia
In the -100kg category making his first appearance in a Grand Slam final was Simeon CATHARINA (NED) who on his way to the final had defeated number one seed Peter PALTCHIK (ISR). The Dutchman was up against home favourite Arman ADAMIAN (RUS) who was looking to bounce back from an…
7 May 2021There is finally light at the end of a long tunnel for our cadet and junior athletes with the plan in place to restart European Cups for cadets, juniors and seniors. As we are still enduring the pandemic, events will still require the full application of the IJF Covid protocol…
7 May 2021Grand Slam - Kazan, Russia
Russia’s hopes in the -73kg category could reasonably have been expected to rest with Denis IARTCEV (RUS). But Iartcev bowed out early and as the top seeds tumbled, we were eventually left with what must surely rate as the most surprising of Grand Slam finals ever when Ayub KHAZAHLIEV (RUS)…
6 May 2021Grand Slam - Kazan, Russia
Current world champion Lukhumi CHKHVIMIANI (GEO) showed just why he wears the red backpatch when in an epic final In the -60kg category he defeated home favourite and number one seed Robert MSHVIDOBADZE (RUS). Chkhvimiani was able to overturn a 0-4 record against Mshvidobadze after the pair battled for over…
5 May 2021The Junior European Championships 2021 will be hosted in the D’ Coque National Sports Center in the city of Luxembourg, a modern sports hall with modern infrastructure and excellent conditions. Following the initiation and continuation of the worldwide pandemic, the President of the Luxembourg Judo Federation (FLAM), Mr Serge Schaul,…
5 May 2021Grand Slam - Kazan, Russia
Kazan is a tale of two cities. As a result of its far inland position, summers can be extremely warm for its latitude and winters can be bitterly cold compared to areas further west in Europe. But over the coming days it won’t be the temperature but the results of…
4 May 2021COVID KEEPS
The ‘Covid Keeps’ series started last week with Melissa and this week we are pleased to say she has more to offer the judo community. With her third and final episode she delivers more to help those training at home to keep busy and maintain a healthy lifestyle. We will…
4 May 2021Ippon Gear
During the senior European Judo Championships in Lisbon in April, a contract signing took place between the EJU and our long-time, Diamond Supplier, IPPON GEAR. The worldwide well-known company from Bavaria has been involved with the EJU for a long time. They have been the first of our sponsors to…
3 May 2021European Judo Open M&W - Zagreb, Croatia
On the second day of the Zagreb European Open, the largest weight category by far was the men’s -81kg category. To get in to the quarter finals the men were required to win four rounds, which meant those in the final had in fact stepped on the tatami six times…
2 May 2021European Judo Open M&W - Zagreb, Croatia
Day one of the Zagreb European Open saw seven strong weight categories battle it out for the gold medals. With 251 athletes, it was a day packed with action. Despite the spectators being absent, the atmosphere was still intense with huge teams from Italy, Israel, Netherlands, Romania and of course…
1 May 2021European Judo Open M&W - Zagreb, Croatia
This week the Croatian Judo Federation will be welcoming over 480 athletes to Zagreb for the European Open on the 1st and 2nd of May, 2021. Hosting the 33 nations from around the world is the Dom Sportova 2. In 2020, Croatia successfully hosted the Junior and U23 European Championships…
29 April 2021EJU Training Camp - Papendal, Netherlands
Following a tremendous senior European Championships in Lisbon, some of Europe’s top athletes took no break and went straight on to Papendal, the Dutch National Training Centre. In total, 18 countries (16 from EJU and 2 non-EJU) with 108 players (40 from EJU, 2 non-EJU, and 66 from the Dutch…
28 April 2021COVID KEEPS
Today we release the first edition of ‘Covid Keeps’ to encourage those struggling to train or have minimal options at home, to continue with these examples. In this weeks videos we introduce Melissa Tuypens-Johnen, a 5th Dan from Belgium who has been practicing the sport for 32 years alongside husband…
27 April 2021Most will be familiar with our Director of Head Office and President of the Austrian Judo Federation, Martin Poiger, in a suit during events, however like most of us, found love for judo on the tatami. At the age of six, Martin’s mother saw a promotion for a beginners class…
24 April 2021