Turkey takes home two gold medals at final day of Judo Grand Prix
Mihael Zgank secured a tough win for his country while Hilal Ozturk fought hard to secure her first Grand Prix Gold.
Transcript
00:00 After two days of judo action, the last day of the competition in Portugal has arrived.
00:07 Today we will witness the strength and skill of the heavyweights as they take the stage and battle for gold.
00:13 Before the action, some lucky judo kids enjoyed time with the local judoka and Portuguese hero, Barbara Timo.
00:24 In the men's under 90 kg category, Mihail Shkank went up against clan Christopher Kaliolyt, a top contest that went into golden score.
00:34 Moshe Ponte, member of the IJF Coordination Committee of Directors and President of the Israel Judo Association awarded the medals.
00:49 I went to the city center a bit, so I like the country, I like the weather also, and it just makes me feel really good.
00:58 At under 78 kg, Anna Montaolek from Germany showed her dominance and took her second Grand Prix gold medal, a fantastic start to 2024.
01:13 A superb counter to Metka Lobnik's attack led to a hold down to secure her top spot on the podium, a masterful performance that the crowd loved.
01:23 Tina Trosten, Jack, referee, supervisor, Olympic and world champion was on hand to award the medals.
01:31 I liked it very much, of course also for winter, it's a very warm weather, I like that very much, and also my coach, he's from here, so it's special to win here.
01:42 In the under 100 kg, Madvei Kanakovski won the contest with a Waza-ari score in the last 20 seconds with this incredible technique.
01:53 He was awarded his medal by Mohamed Meridja, education and coaching director of the International Judo Federation.
02:05 In the over 78 kg, Turkey's Hilal Ozturk claimed her first Grand Prix gold. A Waza-ari against Japan's Miki Mukunoki was enough for the Portugal Grand Prix title.
02:18 An impressive win, she was awarded her medal by Yuri Alvear, International Judo Federation Sport Commission member and three-time world champion.
02:29 In the over 100 kg, reigning world champion Inal Tassoev threw for Ippon in the first 30 seconds of the final with an impressive Ushimata.
02:38 Another medal for him and a great start to the year which leads us to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
02:46 The medals were awarded by Sergio Pina, president of the Portuguese Judo Federation.
02:51 That's it from Portugal, join us next week for the Paris Grand Slam.
02:56 [MUSIC PLAYING]