Inside Russia’s Junior Judo Surge at the Paks European Cup

Russia was the standout team at the Paks Junior European Cup 2026, putting together a huge medal haul over two days of Judo competition. The squad finished with 10 gold, six silver and nine bronze medals, a total that set it apart from the rest of the field and once again highlighted the depth of its junior programme.

The numbers alone tell one story. But in Paks, another part of that story came from Artem Fotuima, a young Russian judoka who placed seventh after a tough run through the tournament. He did not leave with a medal, yet his experience offered a clear look at the system behind Russia’s continued success.

According to Fotuima, the strength of the team starts at home. He pointed to the sheer number of judoka competing in Russia and the intensity of the national championships, where strong athletes face each other long before reaching events like the Junior European Cup. In that environment, earning a place on the national team is already a major achievement.

That insight helps explain why Russia was so difficult to match in Paks. A programme built on internal competition can keep producing athletes ready to challenge at international level, even when they are still early in their careers. It also means that results are not defined only by the podium. The standard across the team can stay high from the first match to the last.

For Fotuima personally, the event marked an important moment. It was his first appearance in Paks and only his second Junior European Cup. He also said that he became a member of the Russian National Team this year, making the tournament another significant step in his development.

In Paks, even a seventh-place finish revealed the depth of Russia’s junior team.

Fotuima described the competition as a valuable experience, especially because of the level of the athletes involved. Facing opponents who arrived aiming for gold gave him a sharper sense of what top junior Judo demands. In his view, that kind of tournament helps athletes improve whether they win or lose.

That may be one of the most important takeaways from Paks. Russia’s medal count will dominate the headlines, and fairly so, but the event also showed how growth in junior Judo often happens beyond the podium places. Matches, pressure and repeated exposure to elite opposition all matter.

In that sense, Paks was not only a successful weekend for Russia’s medal leaders. It was also another sign of how a strong team culture keeps moving forward through every athlete in the squad. For Fotuima, there was no medal this time, but there was something that can matter just as much at this stage of a career: experience, proof of level, and one more step inside high-level international Judo.

Source: EJU.net

Image source: EJU / European Judo Union