Germany topped the medal table on Saturday, the opening day of the European Open in Sarajevo, with two gold and two bronze medals. Great Britain followed closely with two gold medals as Michael Fryer and Lucy Renshall both triumphed in their finals.
Two well-matched athletes met in the women’s -63kg final, with a tactical opening four minutes between France’s Gaetane Deberdt and Great Britain’s Lucy Renshall. Deberdt, the most successful athlete competing in Sarajevo with four previous European Open victories, was looking to add another title to her name. However, she faced one of the most decorated and experienced judoka in the field, Lucy Renshall, in their first ever encounter.
Renshall returned to competition with elegance and determination after a long period of setbacks following her early exit at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. The former world number one in this category showed she is back in form, claiming a motivating gold medal after scoring in the fifth minute of golden score. Once she managed to secure her grip on the French judoka’s back, she executed a sharp uchi-mata to seal victory. After six Grand Slam titles, this was a meaningful return to form for the 29-year-old, coached by Jean-Paul Bell. Renshall’s first European Open medal dates back to 2016 in Tallinn.
Slovenia’s Leila Mazouzi took on Germany’s Natascha Lauber in the bronze medal contest, scoring wazari after 45 seconds. Lauber came back with a score of her own but it was not enough to stop Mazouzi, who claimed her second consecutive European Open medal, once again in Sarajevo. Italy’s Nadia Simeoli and Dutch judoka Kamile Nalbat fought for the second bronze. The ever-aggressive Simeoli scored wazari in the first 20 seconds and extended her lead with yuko in the second minute. Despite losing to Renshall in the quarter-final, Simeoli came back strongly in the repechage to earn a satisfying bronze medal. After winning bronze in 2021, she returned to the Sarajevo podium once more.
All eyes were on title defender Aleksandra Samardzic in the -70kg category. The Bosnian star aimed to open the account for the Samardzic sisters, as both had the chance to win their second title and equal British judoka Emma Reid, the only woman so far to win the tournament twice. Her sister Andjela is due to compete tomorrow in the -57kg category.
In the final against Sarah Mehlau of Germany, Samardzic faced the pressure of expectation. Both athletes, similar in height and reach, produced a static contest in the early stages. Supported by teammates and her sister in the stands, Samardzic pushed for a breakthrough, but the match went into golden score. The local favourite, who has enjoyed success in Sarajevo since her youth, winning the European Cup four times, has now lost two European Open finals, both in her home city. Despite holding no penalties, she fell just short again as Mehlau took advantage of a dominant grip after one minute in golden score and drove through with o-uchi-gari to silence the home crowd.
Belgium’s Lien Meeuwssen faced Denmark’s Emilie Sook in the bronze medal contest. Sook, known for her strong drop seoi-nage, scored after two minutes and later forced Meeuwssen into submission with 17 seconds remaining. The Danish judoka claimed her third European Open medal after previous successes in 2016 and 2019. The second bronze went to Nadezhda Tatarchenko, who defeated France’s Marie Desangle, scoring yuko midway through the match before sealing victory with ippon in the final minute.
Titleholder Petrunjela Pavic of Croatia defended her reputation in the -78kg final against Daria Rechkalova (IJF). Pavic, who won the European U23 title in Sarajevo in 2022, added her first gold medal at the European Open to her growing list of achievements. Rechkalova started strongly, showing power in the opening exchanges, but Pavic reacted immediately and capitalised with a well-timed ura-nage transition into o-uchi-gari for ippon, taking the first gold of the day for Croatia.
Ilana Bouvier of France won bronze after defeating Lorena Perkovic of Croatia in just 23 seconds with a powerful combination of o-uchi-gari and uchi-mata for ippon. In the second bronze medal contest, Poland’s Eliza Wroblewska, the tallest in the field, faced Spain’s Sara Fernandez Campillo, one of the smallest. Wroblewska trailed with two penalties but managed to level the match in the final seconds, scoring yuko with 13 seconds left and then countering a desperate attack with ko-soto-gari for another wazari to secure bronze, her first European Open medal outside Poland.
Last year’s winner Tina Radic of Croatia entered Sarajevo as the title defender in the heavyweight division, but this time she was stopped by France’s Dounia Nacer. Both judoka, equally tall and powerful, engaged in a strong gripping battle, with Nacer taking control and ultimately winning on the ground to secure gold.
Germany’s Lili Louise Wojta defeated Jovana Mrvaljevic (MNE) in the bronze medal match after two minutes, escaping a leg entanglement to hold her opponent in oseikomi for her first European Open medal.
At the end of the opening day, Germany and Great Britain lead the medal standings with two gold medals each. Action continues on Sunday with the lightweight women, and all contests can be followed live on JudoTV.com.
Judoka
Author: Hans Van Essen