Golden Aleksandar Kukolj still counts U100kg

Former European champion at U90 kg, Aleksandar Kukolj (SRB) managed another stunt to win the Grand Prix Zagreb. He lost the Zagreb final in 2014, but almost a decade later he wins the gold after all, albeit in the U100kg class. The Serbian has 17 World Judo Tour medals to his name, but only 3 of them have come since he moved up to the higher weight class in 2020. In Zagreb, everything went right for him as he defeated all of his opponents by waza-ari-awasete ippon.

Despite all of the world’s top 12 athletes at -100 kg being absent from the Zagreb Grand Prix 2023, the typically unpredictable category provided us with its usual blend of powerful throws and fast transitions on day 3 of the competition.

The 31-year-old had to come from a waza-ari down to beat Thompson (GBR) in round 1. Kukolj threw him with an o-soto- to ko-soto-gari combination before locking in a yoko-shiho-gatame to take the win. A sprightly Tsubame-gaeshi and later ko-uchi-gari gave him the win over Keeve (USA) in round 2. He countered a de-ashi-harai attempt from Bozbayev (KAZ) in the quarter-final by sweeping his opponent’s standing leg with ko-uchi-gari, landing straight into another yoko-shiho-gatame.

Kukolj came up against the Upper Austria Grand Prix 2023 winner Leonardo Goncalves in the semi-final. It was a left versus right tussle, with Kukolj beating the Brazilian to the inside position in every exchange. 2 minutes in, he worked his way across for a huge tai-otoshi, though Goncalves avoided landing completely on his back. Just 30 seconds later, the Serbian switched to the rear and threw with tani-otoshi, to set up a rematch of the 2021 World Championship final with Portuguese Jorge Fonseca.

From the outset, it was clear Kukolj had learned his lessons from that final. In Zagreb he managed the contest perfectly, negating Fonseca’s grips while staying active. Fonseca picked up two penalties and began to get frustrated. The Serbian picked his moment, countering a ko-soto-gari attempt by the Portuguese fighter with o-uchi-gari to score waza-ari with 30 seconds remaining. Kukolj ran  the clock down on the ground and took a tremendous 3rd grand prix gold medal.

The double world champion Fonseca stood out from the crowd, but much like Sagi Muki (ISR) at -81 kg, he has struggled to build consistency following his world title wins; his last major medal was a silver at the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam in 2022. The Portuguese powerhouse was on the kind of form that earned him his world crowns.

Fonseca faced a determined Mai (GER) in round 2 in an excellent contest, with both players producing strong attacks throughout. It took over 9 minutes of contest time to separate the two, after which the German picked up a 3rd penalty for a false attack. That match was, unsurprisingly, the toughest he would have to deal with in the opening rounds.

Keen to avoid another lengthy golden score period, Fonseca was much more precise in round 3 against Shagatayev (KAZ), throwing his opponent with a swooping seoi-otoshi less than 90 seconds into the fight. In his quarter-final, he used the same technique but took a third of the time to throw Piotr Kuczera (POL) for ippon, leaving the Polish athlete aghast. This win was even more impressive given that Fonseca had come out second best in both of their previous encounters.

A semi-final with top seed Simeon Catharina awaited. Fonseca beat the Dutchman to the attack in every exchange but wasn’t able to score using his forward techniques. Catharina later chose to close the distance on Fonseca, who responded by changing direction with a flurry of ko-uchi-gari attacks. One eventually landed and scored waza-ari; Catharina simultaneously picked up a 3rd shido for using both elbows to defend the throw and with that, Fonseca was into his 8th IJF World Tour final.

Kuczera and Goncalves locked horns to decide the first of the bronze medal winners. The Polish athlete kicked off the match confidently and sent Goncalves flying with ko-soto-gari, scoring waza-ari just 40 seconds in. Kuczera was perhaps too confident though, coming behind the Brazilian in the following exchanges and looking to bait him into a mistake. Goncalves took full advantage, throwing his opponent with harai-goshi for ippon at the edge of the tatami. This was grand prix medal number 6 for him and with teammate Buzacarini exiting early, Goncalves continues to make progress in the race for Olympic qualification.

The second bronze medal was settled between Catharina and the ever-explosive Aaron Fara (AUT). The Austrian threw all but one of his opponents in the preliminaries with obi-tori-gaeshi, the other being uchi-mata, but he was stopped in the quarter-final by Goncalves who came from behind to level and then submit Fara with juji-gatame.

Catharina struggled to contain Fara in the opening minutes and went down by waza-ari to a hikikomi-gaeshi attack. Fara tired quickly, however, allowing Catharina to work his way back into the contest. Fara attempted a turnover into kata-gatame but didn’t control the Dutchman’s legs and Catharina hopped around on top to hold Fara in yoko-shiho-gatame for ippon. Both athletes had knowing grins as they stood up: Catharina couldn’t believe his luck; Fara couldn’t believe he’d thrown his medal away. This was grand prix bronze number three for the top seed. He too is looking to beat his teammate, Michael Korrel, to an Olympic place.