Heavyweights dominate final day of Zagreb Judo Grand Prix
Top international judoka impress fans in Zagreb on the final day of the Judo Grand Prix
Transcript
00:00 The final day of the Zagreb Judo Grand Prix saw the heavyweights take centre stage. Local
00:06 Croatian heroes Lara Svetko and Barbara Matic along with Hungarian legend Hedvig Karakas
00:12 met their fans, signed autographs, took selfies and held a training session for children.
00:19 An amazing experience for the young judoka to help them grow into the next generation.
00:25 With a full house at the Arena Zagreb, the world's best judoka battled for gold.
00:30 At under 19 kilos, Kristian Toth was up first securing a gold medal on Hungary's national
00:35 celebratory day, embodying the nation's pride for his fans at home. As always, friendship
00:41 and respect from Toth.
00:43 IJF Vice President Dr. Laszlo Toth awarded the medals.
00:47 So I really love Zagreb, I really love Croatia of course because of the beach for instance
00:52 or because of the training camps, it's amazing and unbelievable feelings there. And also
00:56 the crowd loves me so it was an amazing day.
01:01 Carol Jimenez at under 78 kilos had her greatest day on a tatami, her first ever world judo
01:07 tour event and she earned the top spot on the podium throwing and holding down for gold,
01:13 an incredible result from the Brazilian.
01:15 IJF Education Director Dr. Sander Korak awarded the medals.
01:20 I felt like I was in Brazil because in Brazil we're used to having a big crowd and here
01:27 I felt the same way in the final block. So I just felt home, I felt good and confident
01:34 and it was an amazing feeling.
01:37 At under 100 kilos, Alexander Kukly scored an expert Waza-ari and held out in the final
01:43 seconds of the contest to take the gold medal, his first in the world judo tour since 2018.
01:50 European Judo Union General Secretary Dr. Martin Poiger awarded the medals.
01:59 At over 78 kilos, Keira Osdemeer was in great form. She proved that she deserved the top
02:08 seeding with an impressive Ippon to end the contest.
02:15 Awarding the medals was Croatian Judo Federation Honorary President Mr. Tomislav Cujlak.
02:23 At over 100 kilos, double Olympic champion Lukas Kurpalak was almost caught in a hold
02:30 down by Otto Hjelga, but Kurpalak escaped and managed to take a tactical victory due
02:36 to penalties, another gold for the Czech phenomenon.
02:40 Awarding the medals was IJF Head Sport Director Mr. Vladimir Barta.
02:46 There were Ippons aplenty from local home heroes here in Croatia, an amazing day for
02:51 the host nation.
02:53 That's it for the 2023 Zagreb Judo Grand Prix.
02:56 [MUSIC PLAYING]