From Cadet Tatami to Olympic Gold: Europe’s Early Signs of Greatness in Judo

European judo has produced a striking pattern: some Olympic champions were already continental winners as cadets long before they reached the top of the sport. The EJU’s look back connects those early Cadet European Championship titles with later Olympic gold, showing how soon elite potential can appear on the tatami.

The first name in that line was Angelo Parisi of France. He won cadet European gold in Bordeaux in 1970 and became the first former Cadet European Champion to take Olympic judo gold when he triumphed in the +95 kg category at Moscow 1980. His Olympic record grew into four medals, alongside major success at junior and senior European level.

Ilias Iliadis gave that pathway another unforgettable chapter. The Greek star won the Cadet European title in Győr in 2002 while still not yet sixteen, then became Olympic champion in Athens just two years later. In front of a home crowd, he secured one of the most memorable rises mentioned in this story and later added world and European titles to his collection.

Other athletes followed that same route from cadet promise to Olympic glory. Azerbaijan’s Elnur Mammadli won cadet European gold in Rotterdam in 2004 and later claimed Olympic gold in the -73 kg category at Beijing 2008. Russia’s Arsen Galstyan repeated the pattern from Salzburg 2005 to London 2012 in the -60 kg class, while Khasan Khalmurzaev moved from cadet success in Koper in 2009 to Olympic gold at Rio 2016 in the -81 kg division.

France’s Clarisse Agbegnenou stands out as one of the biggest names on the list. After winning the Cadet European Championships in Sarajevo in 2008, she built a career filled with major titles, including five Senior European crowns, six world gold medals and five Olympic medals. Her individual Olympic title came in Tokyo 2021, and she also earned team Olympic gold in Tokyo and Paris 2024.

Some champions were visible years before the world fully noticed.

Georgia’s Lasha Bekauri turned cadet gold in Kaunas in 2017 into something even bigger, winning back-to-back Olympic titles in Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2024. Azerbaijan’s Hidayat Heydarov also made his mark early with cadet golds in Tallinn and Athens, and in 2024 completed a rare sweep of European, World and Olympic gold in the same year.

There is also a strong recent European story in the women’s divisions. Slovenia’s Andreja Leški won cadet European gold in Athens in 2014, later became Senior European Champion in 2023, and then captured Olympic gold in Paris in 2024. Croatia’s Barbara Matić followed her own long arc from cadet gold in Teplice in 2010 to world titles in 2021 and 2022, then European gold in Zagreb and Olympic gold in Paris in 2024.

Azerbaijan’s Zelym Kotsoiev completes the list of 11 Olympic champions highlighted by the EJU. A two-time Cadet European Champion in 2014 and 2015, he went on to become both World and Olympic Champion in 2024.

The article also points to the present. Among the reigning world champions crowned in Budapest in 2025 are several former Cadet European Champions: Italy’s Assunta Scutto, Georgia’s Eteri Liparteliani, Russia’s Timur Arbuzov, Russia’s Matvey Kanikovskiy and Russia’s Inal Tasoev.

With the next Cadet European Championships set for Gran Canaria from 29 June to 2 July 2026, the message is simple and exciting. Sometimes the future Olympic champion is already there, still young, already winning, and only just beginning.

Source: EJU.net

Image source: EJU / European Judo Union