Lausanne Opens a New Chapter for Inclusive Judo

The Ecole Mont-Olivet Lausanne Grand Slam 2026 opened with a landmark moment for Judo: elite and adapted judo athletes sharing the same arena, tatami and values. The ceremony in Lausanne, the Olympic Capital, marked the first Grand Slam to bring those worlds together in this way.

International Judo Federation President Marius Vizer declared the event open by highlighting Judo’s role as a force for unity, solidarity and peace. He thanked Lausanne, the canton of Vaud, the International Olympic Committee, Swiss Judo and the event’s partners, while also linking the occasion to the agreement signed earlier that day for Lausanne to host the 2028 World Judo Championships.

A ceremony video focused on the idea that nobody develops alone. It brought together the place of children, adapted judo athletes, refugees and people from different backgrounds within the wider Judo community.

The message became visible on the tatami during a kata demonstration by Croatia’s Petra Oreskovic and Japan’s Joshiro Maruyama, a double world champion. Oreskovic, the first athlete with cerebral palsy who cannot walk to earn a black belt, performed alongside one of Judo’s leading technicians in a powerful expression of inclusion.

In Lausanne, inclusion was placed at the centre of the Grand Slam opening.

French Judo icon David Douillet, an Olympic, world and European champion as well as an IJF Hall of Fame member, was welcomed as ambassador of the Ecole Mont-Olivet Lausanne Grand Slam 2026. Moved by what he had seen, Douillet described the competition as a reflection of how people should live together, with all participants recognised simply as judoka.

A video message from Japanese legend Yasuhiro Yamashita added another personal perspective. Yamashita, who has used a wheelchair since a serious accident three years ago, congratulated Lausanne on its first inclusive Grand Slam and pointed to Jita kyoei, mutual welfare and benefit, as a principle that reaches beyond competition.

Vizer was joined at the opening by Damien Antoine, President of the Deaf International Judo Federation; Sergei Aschwanden, President of Swiss Judo; Christelle Luisier Brodard, President of the Vaud Council of State; and Émilie Moeschler, Lausanne’s Municipal Councillor responsible for Sport and Social Cohesion. The speakers stressed that sporting excellence and inclusion can advance together.

After the Swiss and IJF anthems, the first Ecole Mont-Olivet Lausanne Grand Slam was officially underway.

Source: IJF.org

Image source: IJF / International Judo Federation