First Quarter of 2025 Judo Season Ends as World Championships Approach

AIPS

The first quarter of the 2025 judo season has come to an end. After four Grand Slams and one Grand Prix, Japan leads the medal table with 20 out of 70 golds and 18% of all medals. However, many Olympic champions and top contenders have yet to make their season debut. The real showdown is expected at the upcoming World Championships in Budapest.

Five major events—Paris, Baku, Tashkent, Tbilisi, and Linz—have already taken place. Traditional powerhouses performed steadily, while emerging nations also made their mark. French athletes impressed on home soil, and Russian judokas competing under the IJF flag had a strong showing. Host nations like Uzbekistan and Georgia also delivered solid results. In women’s judo, more non-traditional countries began claiming gold, signaling a shift in global competitiveness.

The Grand Prix in Linz featured the highest participation so far this season and served as a key opportunity for athletes to collect ranking points for the World Championships and future Olympic qualification. A noticeable trend was athletes moving up in weight classes—Hungary’s Szofi Ozbas, for example, claimed back-to-back golds after switching categories.

With the World Championships just around the corner, the return of star judokas is highly anticipated. The current results suggest a possible shake-up in the global judo landscape.