Idman.biz
On the eve of the European Championship, which will start on April 16 in Tbilisi, the European Judo Union has launched a project called "Golden Collectors". In this project, a special place is given to Hidayat Heydarov, who competes in the 73 kg weight category and has won the continental championship four times. It is the Azerbaijani athlete who, together with his teammate Zelim Kotsoyev (100 kg), is considered one of the main favorites of the competition.
Idman.Biz reports that Hidayat first won the European Championship in 2017, and then scored a hat-trick in 2022–2024. He is currently the record holder in terms of the number of Olympic champion titles, ahead of Czech Lukas Krpalek, Georgian Tato Grigalashvili and Spaniard Francisco Garrigos (all have three victories). The overall leader in terms of the number of victories on the old continent is Frenchman Roman Diko, who has won five times. He will now try to win the European Championship for the sixth time.
A star-studded squad is expected in Tbilisi. Seven Olympic champions will enter the tatami, making the tournament one of the most competitive in recent years. Among them, in addition to Heydarov and Kotsoyev, are the mentioned Krpalek, Lasha Shavdatuashvili and Lasha Bekauri (both from Georgia), Distria Krasniqi (Kosovo) and Alice Bellandi (Italy).
Tbilisi will host the European Championship for the second time. The city previously hosted the continent's strongest judokas in 2009. At that time, 260 athletes from 39 countries participated in the competition. In 2026, the scale has increased significantly: currently, the participation of 410 athletes from 46 countries is expected.
It should be noted that the first European Judo Championship was held 75 years ago - in 1951 in Paris, and at that competition French athletes won in all five weight categories. Over the decades, the tournament has developed significantly and has become one of the most prestigious competitions in the world sports calendar.
For two decades, the European Championship was held under the dominance of Western European countries. Only in 1970 was the tournament first organized in a city belonging to the socialist bloc - East Berlin. Four years later, the first European Women's Championship was held in Genoa.
Since 1987, men and women have been competing within the same tournament. The 2026 championship will be the 75th for men and the 52nd for women.
Throughout history, the leader of the championships is the French national team:
France - 249 gold, 169 silver, 259 bronze medals
Netherlands - 105 gold, 87 silver, 168 bronze medals
Germany - 96 gold, 115 silver, 281 bronze medals
