On the first day of action, first and foremost, there was a gold medal for Csanad Feczko of Hungary in the category under 60 kg. The Hungarian was very convincing throughout the competition and in the end of the day, the former EYOF Champion could celebrate his first ever gold medal in a Junior European Cup.
Feczko could share the podium with three other IPPON GEAR athletes; Silver went to our American youngster Jacob More. Hungarian teammate David Naji and Czech Radek Rypar, both ended their day with a bronze medal.
Also, in the -52 kg category, the flag was raised for Hungary, as Timea Kardos captured the gold medal. Kardos won six gold medals in Cadet European Cups. This weekend, she could be proud of winning her first ever medal at a Junior European Cup.
In the category under 57 kg, Vera Zemanova showed up in the final again. Zemanova has made her appearance at only three Junior European Cups this season but managed to reach the final in all three of them. After capturing the gold medal in her home event in Prague a few weeks ago, the Czech had to settle for a silver medal this weekend, but what a consistency she is showing - Zemanova will definitely be one to watch at the European Championships next month!
Also, Zemanova’s team mate Adam Budzovsky did a great job in Poland and managed to get all the way to the final in the -73 kg category after a series of convincing IPPON wins in the preliminaries. In the final, the Czech unfortunately fell short but nevertheless a great performance from the youngster!
Budzovsky could share the podium with his teammate Daniel Pochop, who could be happy about picking up a his first ever medal at a Junior European Cup; A bronze medal.
On the second day of action, Andela Violic of Croatia was the golden girl for the IPPON GEAR team, as she reached the top spot at the podium in the -70 kg category. Violic finished with a silver medal at the European Cup in Prague a few weeks ago but this time she managed to upgrade this result to a gold medal - Her first in the Junior division.
The team of Hungary could be delighted about winning a third gold medal, as Richard Sipocz took the win in the +100 kg category. Sipocz was on fire throughout the day and claimed the victory in convincing style - With only IPPON wins. The Budapest Grand Prix bronze medalist and triple Cadet European Champion is only a first year Junior but has gained ground extremely fast and will definitely be among the favorites to take the Junior European title next month!
In the -63 kg category, Kristyna Polaskova of Czech Republic ended her day with a good bronze medal. After a strong performance throughout the whole competition, the Czech could celebrate her first ever medal at European Cup level.
Furthermore, another bronze medal went to Pavel Svec, also from Czech Republic. Svec made it all the way to the semifinal, where he unfortunately fell short, but came back strongly to take his second European Cup medal this season.
Last but not least, there was also a bronze medal for Patrunjela Pavic of Croatia in the category under 78 kg, who, as well as Svec, could be happy about picking up her second medal this year.
Also, lot of our athletes came very close to the medals but had to settle for 5th place finishes:
Gyorgy Szatmari of Hungary (-66 kg)
Botond Szeredas of Hungary (-66 kg)
Eduard Denovec of Czech Republic (-73 kg)
Lukas Pecenka of Czech Republic (-81 kg)
Matyas Sobota of Czech Republic (-81 kg)
Martin Bezdek of Czech Republic (-90 kg)
Jan Mazek of Czech Republic (+100 kg)
Donat Varga of Hungary (+100 kg)
Next weekend, the last Junior European Judo Cup of the year will take place in Cluj-Napoca in Romania, where the Junior athletes will battle it out for the last points before the first highlight of the year: the Junior European Judo Championships in Vaanta, Finland!
