Sarajevo’s Kata Stage Is Growing Fast, and Europe’s Biggest Duels Are Ready to Return

The European Judo Kata Championships are heading into Sarajevo with more momentum than ever. What was once seen as a quieter side of the sport now arrives with major scale, major depth and a packed field ready to test itself across senior, junior, cadet and adapted judo divisions.

This year’s edition is set to be the biggest in championship history, with 393 competitors from 28 nations. That rise from 330 athletes and 21 countries only two years earlier says a lot about where kata is going in Europe.

The growth has not happened by chance. The EJU Kata Tour, youth seminars and stronger investment in cadet and junior participation have all helped widen the base. Traditional powers like Italy, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium still shape the event, but the overall picture is broader now, with more countries pushing into the conversation.

One of the clearest clashes to watch comes in senior Nage no Kata. Germany’s Immo Schmidt and Hendrik Schmidt and Italy’s Mauro Collini and Tommaso Rondinini have turned this category into a genuine rivalry. The Germans took gold in Sarajevo in 2024, then the Italians answered in Riga a year later, winning by six points, 397.5 to 391.5.

The rankings suggest another tight contest. Collini and Rondinini arrive as world ranking leaders on 3500 points, with the Schmidt brothers close behind on 3300. Spain should not be ignored either after taking bronze in each of the last two editions, and senior Nage no Kata will be the largest category in Sarajevo with 31 pairs entered.

The fight for Nage no Kata gold looks as close as ever.

Katame no Kata brings another high-level European battle. Belgium’s Nicolas Gilon and Jean Philippe Gilon have long been one of the most dependable pairs on the circuit, but in Riga they were edged out by France’s Nicolas Fourmaux and Jean Daniel Nguyen Van Loc. The margin was tiny, just half a point, 390.0 to 389.5.

Italy’s Andrea Fregnan and Pietro Corcioni add even more pressure to that division. They currently lead the world rankings with 3250 points, ahead of the Belgian pair, while the French champions sit fourth.

Italy also enters Sarajevo with a strong position in Ju no Kata. After the recent retirement of Germany’s Wolfgang Dax Romswinkel and Ursula Loosen from that category, Giovanni Tarabelli and Angelica Tarabelli arrive as the pair to beat. The Italian siblings won European gold last year and stand first in the world rankings with 3600 points.

France’s Mathieu Coulon and Carole Heras and Romania’s Alina Zaharia and Alina Cheru are among the names expected to challenge for podium places. It is another sign that the level is spreading, even in categories once dominated by a smaller number of countries.

In Kime no Kata, France looks especially strong through Gregory Marques and Stephane Bega, who top the world rankings with 2875 points. Even so, the gap is not comfortable. Italy’s Enrico Tommasi and Yuri Ferretti are second, Spain’s Julian Sanchez-Chaparro and Carlos Navarrete Cerezo are still rising, and the Gilon brothers remain contenders again.

Spain may have the deepest hand in Kodokan Goshin Jutsu. Antoni Obrador Mas and Pedro Marcos Rodriguez lead the world rankings, while Juana Puigserver Sanso and Llorenc Gaya Puigserver give Spain another real medal chance. Still, the reigning European champions are Italy’s Marika Sato and Fabio Polo, and Germany’s Andreas Freimuth and Eike Alexander Schmidt are also firmly in the mix.

There is also extra curiosity around Itsutsu no Kata and Koshiki no Kata, the most interpretive disciplines on the programme. They were added to the European Championships only last year and immediately gave the event a different texture. Italy won Itsutsu no Kata through Giovanni Tarabelli and Karol Elia Portesi, while Germany’s Wolfgang Dax Romswinkel and Ursula Loosen took Koshiki no Kata gold.

Youth categories may deliver some of Sarajevo’s freshest moments.

The next wave is arriving quickly too. Junior and cadet entries have surged, especially in Nage no Kata, where Sarajevo will include 22 junior pairs and 13 cadet pairs. Italy’s Filippo Marzaloni and Nicola Bellosi lead the junior world rankings, ahead of Germany’s Elisa Plattfaut and Jaime Oliver Den Ridder, while Slovenia’s Kojc siblings, Kara and Keno, are again among the favourites in Junior Katame no Kata.

Sarajevo will also host the third edition of Adaptive Judo Kata, returning to the city where it was first introduced two years ago. That feels fitting for a championship that is no longer just growing in size, but also in reach, ambition and meaning across European judo.

Source: EJU.net

Image source: EJU / European Judo Union