Denis Vieru (born 10 March 1996) is a Moldovan judoka who competes in the men's half-lightweight (66 kg) category. He competed in the men's 66 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, without winning a medal, [1] but he won a bronze medal in the same event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.
He rose to prominence after winning a gold medal at the European U23 Judo Championships in 2016, the first Moldovan to do so since Marcel Trudov in 2005. [2] Vieru won medals at a number of IJF Grand Prix and Grand Slam events in 2019, including Moldova's first Judo Grand Prix gold medal at the Antalya Grand Prix, [3] another gold at the Baku Grand Slam, and defeated 2016 European champion Vazha Margvelashvili to win gold at the Grand Slam Paris. [4] He also defeated Ranto Katsura of Japan to win a gold medal at the 2019 Summer Universiade in Naples, where he was the flag bearer for the Moldovan delegation in the opening ceremony, [5] and later also won a bronze medal at the 2019 World Judo Championships. [6]
Vieru's medal as well as his points from the 2019 summer's competitions were suspended for a while, while the Moldovan was investigated for use of doping. [7] However, Vieru and his advocates were able to prove that there was "neither will to doping, nor negligence" on the athlete's part, which meant that Vieru only received a three month suspension instead of the regular two years, and was able to keep his medal and his world ranking points. The documents about the events have been sealed from the public. [8]
At the 2021 Judo Grand Slam Abu Dhabi held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, he won the gold medal in his event. [9] He won the gold medal in his event at the 2022 Judo Grand Prix Almada held in Almada, Portugal. [10] Vieru became the 2023 European champion and as of May 2024 is also the world's top ranked judoka in his weight class (66 kg). [11]
Majlinda Kelmendi is a Kosovan-Albanian former judoka and judo coach.
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European Judo Championships — Men's Half Lightweight | |
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1977–97: −65 kg • 1998–present: −66 kg | |
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