Piovesana and Krssakova fly the flag for the hosts

Arguably the strongest field across all of the women’s categories can be found at -63kg, with no fewer than 15 World Judo Tour medallists on the entry list. The host nation accounts for two of these athletes, Lubjana Piovesana (seeded 5th) and Magdalena Krssakova (unseeded), the latter of whom finished in 5th place here last year.

Both will carry their home advantage with them and both represent excellent medal prospects for the host team, though Piovesana is currently well ahead in the Olympic rankings. She defeated the number 2 seed and world bronze medallist Joanne Van Lieshout (NED) on her way to gold at the Baku Grand Slam just three weeks ago, so her confidence levels will be high. Buoyed by the home crowd, Krssakova will be looking to regain the form that won her 3 grand prix titles, to close the gap on her counterpart.

The highly decorated Katharina Haecker (AUS) and Ketlyn Quadros (BRA) are seeded 1st and 4th respectively and represent the biggest threats to Austrian medal chances. Outside the top seeds, numerous athletes have the potential to cause an upset, including Tokyo Grand Slam 2023 bronze medallist Mizuki Takaki (JPN), Dushanbe Grand Prix silver medallist Sarai Padilla Guerrero (ESP) and Dena Pohl (GER) who narrowly missed out on a first grand slam medal in Tashkent last week.

All eyes will be on local hero Michaela Polleres at U70kg. The Tokyo Olympic silver medallist is already one of Austria’s most successful judoka of all time at only 26 years old and with qualification for the Paris Games almost a certainty, she will be hoping to put on a show for an adoring home crowd from her position as the top seed. The number two seed is Aoife Coughlan (AUS), who holds a 3-1 winning record against Polleres; should they both make it through to meet in the final, it will certainly be an intriguing match-up.

There will, however, be plenty of challengers for the top spot. Last year’s gold medallist Maria Perez (PUR) returns as the number four seed. The towering Anka Pogacnik (SLO), a two-time grand prix winner, comes in seeded 3rd, while 5th seed Sabina Gercsak (HUN) will be looking to add to her impressive collection of seven grand prix medals. Japan’s Erina Ike returns to the IJF World Tour for the first time in 8 years. She won 2 grand prix gold medals way back in 2016. 2021 world medallist Sanne Vermeer (NED) made the move up from -63kg six months ago and has been steadily growing into her new weight category, taking a gold medal in the Gyor European Open a few weeks ago.