What Can We Expect to See at the 2023 Zagreb Grand Prix

In less than a year, 14 new Olympic judo champions will be crowned in Paris. However, while there is only room for that many new champions, the number of contenders on the hunt for gold medals is higher than ever before. The next qualifying event is the Zagreb Grand Prix, which takes place this weekend commencing August 18th in the Croatian capital, and 542 of the planet’s finest judokas will battle it out in a bid to collect precious points to qualify for next summer’s Paris Games.

The upcoming tournament is the tenth edition of the Croatian Grand Prix, and the event is sure to separate the planet’s top stars from the also-rans. A number of top Canadian sports betting providers are already publishing their odds, as to who they consider the favorites for glory this month, but it’s the host nation that is pinning its hopes on some of its top talents.

Croatian Female Sensations Gunning for Gold

The Croats boast a combat sports superstar in the form of 28-year-old sensation Barbara Matic. She has proven time and again that she will always have a stake in the medals, however, as we’ve seen at the recent Masters event, her compatriot and good friend Lara Cjvetko is on good form and will also be gunning for gold. At the aforementioned World Masters which recently took place in Budapest, she proved that she is a contender once more as she secured the bronze medal in the U70kg category and she is still in the race for the Paris Games.

While the previously mentioned Croatian pairing is in the race for glory this summer, the most successful athlete in the history of the Croatian Grand Prix is veteran Slovenian powerhouse Anamari Velenšek. The 32-year-old has won the prestigious tournament five times and took six medals back to Ljubljana, far more than any of her adversaries. Only her compatriot and the iconic Tina Trstenjak comes close with four medals - three of which were golden - the same numbers as Krisztian Toth of Hungary.

When it comes to which countries have been the most successful, you won’t be surprised to hear that Japan comes out on top with a whopping 14 titles in the nine previous editions of the tournament. Led by the aforementioned Velenšek and Trstenjak, it is the Slovenians who come in a respectable second place (13) with the French coming in third (12). While they may lie in third place in terms of titles, Les Bleus currently sit atop the total medals table with a whopping 43 to their name. Russia is positioned in second six medals adrift, with the Netherlands a further four medals behind.

Potential Heavyweight Male Clash

Over in the male realm, veteran Czech Republic star Lukáš Krpálek is a perennial challenger, and he will be on the hunt for gold once more. It’s currently unknown as to which weight class the 32-year-old will be competing in, however. It is known that the double Olympic Champion wants to qualify for both U100kg and +100kg categories in next summer’s Paris games, an achievement that no judoka has ever completed ever before, and it’s something that would leave him head and shoulders above his competitors should he manage complete the vaunted feat.

The Czechs have been unlucky thus far in the history of the Croatian Grand Prix, only managing to pick up three silver medals and five bronzes thus far and a maiden gold medal still evades them. They will be aiming to join 33 different countries that have previously won gold. But not even the Czech Republic is the unluckiest nation competing this summer. That is an honour that goes to Portugal, who have managed to capture seven silver medals and a further nine bronzes throughout the course of their judo history, but they have never seen an athlete on the top step of the podium. That may well change later this month however, as double World Champion Jorge Fonseca will be competing in the U100kg category and he will be aiming to change the course of history. If he faces off against the aforementioned Krpálek, it will be sure to be a blockbuster affair.

All Roads Lead to Paris

All the delegations are already looking to the future and the future is Paris 2024, despite the Zagreb Grand Prix being just around the corner. There is still a full calendar year between now and the next Olympic Games but everyone knows that qualifying for the showdown in the French capital is going to require a herculean effort in each category. With the points of the Masters already decided, the picture is almost painted, but this month’s showdown in the Croatian capital will certainly prove which competitors are going to be safe, and which ones are in danger of missing out next summer. With less than a year to go until Paris 2024, strategy is an important element in the preparation, and there is no room for error at each event.