Spanish and Italian prospects shine in stacked Junior European Cup in Portimão

Portimão turned into a showcase for Europe’s next judo generation as 362 juniors from 23 countries fought through two intense days on the Portuguese coast. The big story came from Spain and Italy, who matched each other with four gold medals apiece and showed how strong and deep their junior squads already are.

Europe’s rising judoka delivered statement performances in Portimão.

The tone was set on Saturday with the lighter men’s and several women’s categories. Italy opened in style at U60kg, where Raffaele Sodano took gold and teammate Mattia Pellizzaro added bronze alongside France’s Romain Demoniere Badie. At U66kg, Türkiye’s Mustafa Berat Simsek edged Italian finalist Antonio Esposito, while Moldova’s Ivan Rotasniuc and Portugal’s Manuel Figueiredo stepped onto the podium, giving the home crowd its first big cheer.

European depth showed again at U73kg. Sweden’s Narek Vardanian grabbed gold after a strong run, beating Italy’s Lucio Tavoletta in the final, with Bulgaria’s Andrey Ganchev also securing bronze. In the women’s U63kg, Spain produced a full national showdown as Lucia Carpio Fernandez defeated compatriot Maria Del Rocio Arcones Montenegro, and Italy’s Marika Cavaglia joined Israel’s Adi Socolsky in bronze position.

Higher women’s categories continued the European momentum. Croatia’s Jana Cvjetko took U70kg gold against Bulgaria’s Nadie Jaafar, underlining Balkan strength in the division. At U78kg, Italy dominated with champion Cinzia Caponetto and double bronze from Lucia Magli and Aurora Mengia, while Spain’s Patricia Centeno Teran split the pack with silver. In +78kg, Spain’s Mama Coulibaly Toure topped the field, with Italy’s Giulia Telesca earning bronze.

Sunday’s programme kept the European flags flying. Sweden struck again at U81kg as Alexander Marlov won gold, with Italy’s Alessandro Bruno D'Urbano and Latvia’s Aleksandrs Avdejevs collecting bronze. At U90kg, Israel’s Reem Fridman Zilberstein took the title ahead of Italian finalist Alex Carta, while Bulgaria’s Anton Dimitrov added another European bronze.

In the heavier men’s divisions, Europe stayed front and centre. Spain’s Nikita Yudanov captured U100kg gold over Portugal’s Danilo Storozhuk, joined on the podium by Italy’s Francesco Mazzon and Spain’s Antonio Aixel Ramirez Perez. In +100kg, Italy celebrated gold through Emiliano Rossi and bronze with Michele Corsica, plus bronze for Spain’s Giorgi Laliashvili.

The lighter women’s weights also had a strong European flavour. Spain owned the U48kg category with an all-Spanish final between Claudia Pla Belmonte and Aiora Martin Carriches, and bronze for Irene Garcia Sanchez. In U52kg, Italy’s Alice Bersellini took gold, while Spain’s Marta Beorlegui Oses claimed bronze. France broke the Spanish–Italian streak at U57kg as Clarisse Carillon struck gold, ahead of Italian silver medallist Alice Martellacci and Spanish bronze medallist Odalis Santiago Santana.

By the end of the weekend, Spain and Italy stood level as top nations with four titles each, Sweden’s two men’s golds turned heads, and countries like Portugal, Bulgaria, France, Latvia and Moldova added important podiums. The packed draws at U81kg, U66kg and U63kg underlined just how competitive the European junior circuit has become.

Source: JudoInside