Liparteliani Sets the Pace in a Loaded -57 kg Field

Eteri Liparteliani enters the -57 kg World Championships as the reigning world champion and the woman at the top of the world ranking. After claiming Georgia’s first women’s world title in Budapest last year, she recently reinforced her position by winning the Ecole Mont-Olivet Grand Slam in Switzerland.

That form makes Liparteliani the athlete to chase, but the route to another world final could be demanding. Timna Nelson Levy (ISR) is among the potential opponents on her path, bringing considerable experience from this level of competition. In her seventh appearance at the world championships, Nelson Levy is pursuing a first world medal.

At -57 kg, experience alone will not decide the outcome. Technical and tactical accuracy, the determination to take an opening and the ability to deliver at the right moment can change everything in a single contest.

The reigning champion faces a field full of proven challengers.

Sarah-Léonie Cysique (FRA) is another major name in the race. Ranked world number two, she knows the pressure of world and Olympic podia, but she has not yet won gold at either level. The 2026 championships offer another chance for the French judoka to turn that experience into the biggest title.

The Japanese challenge is equally serious. Momo Tamaoki and Akari Omori both arrive as contenders, and a quarter-final meeting between them remains possible if each progresses through the draw. If that matchup happens, only one of them can continue towards the final.

Liparteliani has earned the leading position through results, but the -57 kg category leaves little room for comfort. With Cysique searching for a breakthrough, Nelson Levy targeting her first world medal and Japan’s Tamaoki and Omori in contention, the fight for the title is set to be fiercely competitive.

Source: IJF.org

Image source: IJF / International Judo Federation