The return of the judo world

With the Grand Prix at the end of May 2023 in the Linz Tips Arena, the World Tour will stop in Austria for the first time. “We have signed a contract for three more years until 2026,” confirms Martin Poiger, which OÖN first reported at the end of August. According to the President of the Judo Association (ÖJV), if the tournament at its premiere two weeks after the Judo World Championships in Qatar “is not an optimal date”, this should change in the years to come as March advances. Poiger was flanked at the presentation by the state councilor for sports, Markus Achleitner, who euphorically spoke of a “real hit”. “In the past few years we have invested in the infrastructure with the judo federal base in Linz, then with the trainers in the ‘software’, now we want to put the judo sport on display accordingly.”

Home advantage in the Paris qualification

The TV signal of the showdown of the estimated 400 judoka from 50 nations will be broadcast in around 190 countries. The domestic aces around Shamil Borchashvili, who is currently training in Madrid, have twice the home advantage in the Olympic qualification, which runs until spring 2024, in the fight for up to 700 qualification points each. For comparison: The previous home tournament, the lower-class European Open in Oberwart, brought just a hundred of them, even in the case of the title.

The judo world will return to Upper Austria 18 years after the last world tournament in Leonding – the World Tour was only introduced in 2009. One who triumphed in Leonding in 2005 is Sabrina Filzmoser. “I’ve always envied her because I would have liked to have fought a tournament like this here at home,” said the Mühlviertler heavyweight Daniel Allerstorfer. “Now we get the chance too.”

“Does it pinch me”

The budget of around 800,000 euros is shared between the Sportland Oberösterreich and the ÖJV, with the latter taking some of this from the competitive sports budget, which was recently increased by 60 percent. “Because four instead of two Austrians per weight class can start at a home tournament, we hope that this will give our boys more chances,” says ÖJV sports director Markus Moser. Poiger describes the state’s funding commitment as a safety net, “however, we want to work in marketing in such a way that we can perhaps say in the next few years: We don’t need that much funding”. An unusual announcement by a head of the association who, after two recent Olympic and World Championship medals, is himself surprised by the developments including the Grand Prix. Poiger: “Sometimes I think anyway, pinch me please!”