Young elite judokas in Krakow

Last weekend, the 3rd edition of the Cracow Judo Open took place in the hall of the Academy of Physical Education in Cracow. On this occasion, the city was visited by more than 800 young competitors from 20 countries, who expressed their appreciation of not only the organisational level, but also the facilities, which were renovated on the occasion of the European Games 2023.

Krakow’s AWF is an university from which many Polish spor champions have graduated. The Kraków-Malopolska 2023 European Games were an opportunity for the univerity’s most important facilities to regain their lustre. As part of government funding of PLN 39 million, the athletics stadium and the games hall were renovated, which then became the arena for the rivalry of Europe’s best pentathletes. In the capital of Małopolska region, not only medals of the European Games were at stake, but also direct Olympic qualification to Paris 2024.

Last weekend, the AWF was again home to the elite, but this time youth judokas, competing in the Cracow Judo Open in age categories from 14 to 21. Around 60 per cent of the participants came from outside Poland, including Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, France, Czechia, Lithuania, Netherlands and Ukraine.

The competition received excellent feedback from participants as well as event partners. – We already have the assurance of cooperation with AWF for the next few years. The competition will therefore be held here periodically. We already have a date set for the 4th edition of the event, which we have planned for 31 August and 1 September 2024. This event is to be attended by the Japanese national team, which we have been striving for for several months, – Sylwester Gaweł, a former competitor and multiple Polish champion, and currently an organiser of judo tournaments, told “Polska Press” in an interview.