JUDO Preview: Two no. 1-ranked judoka for Grand Slam in Ekaterinburg

A large field of 403 judoka from 48 countries are entered in the Grand Prix in Ekaterinburg (RUS), at the 5,000-seat Palace of Sports. The top seeds (with their IJF world rankings):

Men:
● -60 kg: 1. Yeldos Smetov (KAZ: 6); 2. Sharafuddin Lutfillaev (UZB: 8)
● -66 kg: 1. Vazha Margvelashvili (GEO: 1); 2. Baruch Shmailov (ISR: 4)
● -73 kg: 1. Lasha Shavdatuashvili (GEO: 3); 2. Tommy Macias (SWE: 5)
● -81 kg: 1. Frank de Wit (NED: 2); 2. Saki Mugi (ISR: 6)
● -90 kg: 1. Aleksandar Kukolj (SRB: 3); 2. Nemanja Majdov (SRB: 8)
● -100 kg: 1. Peter Paltchik (ISR: 3); 2. Michael Korrel (NED: 8)
● +100 kg: 1. Duurenbayar Ulziibayar (MGL: 3); 2. David Moura (BRA: 4)

Women:
● -48 kg: 1. Paula Pareto (ARG: 5); 2. Irina Dolgova (RUS: 7)
● -52 kg: 1. Natalia Kuziutina (RUS: 5); 2. Charline van Snick (BEL: 6)
● -57 kg: 1. Jessica Klimkait (CAN: 4); 2. Christa Deguchi (CAN: 5)
● -63 kg: 1. Tina Trstenjak (SLO: 2); 2. Juul Franssen (NED: 5)
● -70 kg: 1. Marie Eve Gahie (FRA: 1); 2. Sanne van Dijke (NED: 3)
● -78 kg: 1. Natalie Powell (GBR: 4); 2. Mayra Aguiar (BRA: 6)
● +78 kg: 1. Larisa Ceric (BIH: 2); 2. Maria Suelen Altheman (BRA: 5)

The two no. 1-ranked entries are Georgia’s Vazha Margvelashvili in the 66 kg men’s division, and Marie Eve Gahie (FRA) – the 2018 Worlds silver medalist – in the women’s 70 kg class.

Prize money of $5,000-3,000-1,500 is available to the top three placers. Look for results here.