Golden score, one swing: Ethan Nairne’s O-soto-gari seals a landmark -73kg title

Ethan Nairne’s breakthrough at the 2026 Upper Austria Grand Prix didn’t come with a complicated game plan. The British -73kg judoka simply decided to stop feeding his mind with the draw and the “what ifs” — and it paid off in the biggest way. On a day when his route looked brutal on paper, he walked onto the tatami focused on one thing: his own judo.

That approach carried him through a stacked field. Nairne beat Brazil’s Daniel Cargnin, Rio 2016 Olympic champion Fabio Basile, and Moldova’s Adil Osmanov on the way to the final, cutting down one proven opponent after another. Instead of looking ahead, he stayed in the moment — the exact mental shift he’s been working on for years.

Sometimes the toughest opponent is the noise in your own head.

In the gold medal contest against Türkiye’s Bilal Ciloglu, the tension stretched deep into golden score. Two minutes into the extra time, Nairne found his opening and hit a beautifully timed O-soto-gari, scoring Yuko to secure his first Grand Prix title. It also marked a major moment for British men’s judo: the first Grand Prix gold since 2021, and only the third in history.

Speaking later from the Olympic Training Camp in Nymburk, Nairne admitted the win is only now starting to feel real — especially with everyone going at him harder in randori. His international journey began in 2018, and across 42 events he’s reached the podium seven times, including two gold medals. He credits the difficult days for pushing him to improve the mental side, especially breaking the habit of comparing himself to team-mates and rivals.

Another part of that reset was learning to leave pressure at home when it’s time to compete. It’s a mindset he’ll need soon, with the Tbilisi Grand Slam (20–22 March) next and the European Championships in Tbilisi (16–19 April) on the horizon. Nairne also revealed he only realised he’d secured his place for the Europeans during his post-fight interview after winning in Austria — and now he’s aiming higher, targeting his first European medal while keeping the long-term Olympic dream front and centre. Away from the tatami, he launched an online coaching business in March, landing just as his Grand Prix moment hit.

Source: EJU_News