IJF President Marius Vizer cautious and focused at World Tour comeback

The IJF has been working hard to organise the Grand Slam in Budapest. Not everyone agrees with the conditions and the fair play for everyone. It will be the return of the IJF World Judo Tour, but without the great Hungarian home crowd. On these questions IJF President Marius Vizer answered in the press conference after the draw. We picked up the most important issues.

How do you feel, as a judoka, having an opportunity to attend a life judo event?

Marius Vizer: Personally, I am looking forward to again being surrounded by the judo family, to feel proud of our team and our athletes, with all they have endured in recent months. I want to hear judo, I want to see judo and I want to feel judo. There is nothing better than champions from all over the world gathering, in the best conditions possible, to enjoy their passion. As President of the International Judo Federation, I also feel the need to be cautious and focused on the safety of everyone.

For the first time we will have an event without spectators. What is being done to ensure the media can be included and coverage can satisfy everyone involved?

Marius Vizer: For obvious reasons, there cannot be spectators within the venue, but this doesn’t mean that we won’t have spectators at all. We are working tirelessly to make sure that we can offer a very high standard of coverage. We have been doing everything possible to provide the best images to our TV partners and to media all over the world. Once again, this is a challenging time, but we are ready for that. Maybe more than ever, we’ll need a strong media coverage.

What can be said about delegations that cannot attend GS Hungary for health or financial reasons?

Marius Vizer: Within pre-Covid calendars there have always been challenges of this kind. We will continue to support developing nations where we can and will work hard to keep the playing field as level as possible. Fairplay is a large part of our judo values and we will do all we can in that regard. However, we must begin. It is time to take steps forward within our new normal.

What are your expectations in terms of the staging of the Hungary Grand Slam?

Marius Vizer: I expect the highest standards of professionalism in all areas, with delegations doing all they can to abide by safety protocols, so that we can continue to deliver our World Judo Tour. Our IJF team is working so hard to establish new routines that facilitate excellence and safety and I have no doubt their efforts will be rewarded. I also expect to see, once again, an incredible level of performance on the tatami, with our athletes showing why judo is so special. They will showcase the best of judo; I am 100% behind them and am also eager to see the fruits of their dedication in this very difficult period.

Check out the participants list for the Grand Slam with 409 athletes from 61 countries which is quite an amazing field from countries that suffer from the coronavirus. Quite a lot of athletes though have withdrawn from participating in Hungary where Covid-19 is still very aggressive. Some athletes such as Baruch Shmailov and Lukas Krpalek had to withdraw due to their positive test on Covid-19 as well as the whole Italian team including four positive tested athletes and a coach. Not the best start of the event as they all tested negative in advance.

The Grand Slam is an event with three fighting days. The category U81kg is crowded with 43 athletes followed by men’s U66kg with 41. The categories for women U57kg and U63kg are well seeded with 25 athletes.