 | |
| Category | Sports federation |
|---|---|
| Jurisdiction | International |
| Abbreviation | IJF |
| Founded | 1951 |
| Headquarters | Budapest, Hungary |
| President | Marius Vizer |
| Official website | |
| ijf | |
The International Judo Federation (IJF) is the international governing body for judo, founded in July 1951. [1] Today the IJF has 200 National Federations on all continents. There are over 20 million people around the globe who practice judo, according to the IJF. [2]
The IJF was originally composed of judo federations from Europe and Argentina. [3] Countries from four continents were affiliated over the next ten years.
Since 2009, IJF has organized yearly World Championships and the World Judo Tour consisting of five Grand Prix, four Grand Slams, a master tournament, and a Continental open tournament. [4]
In March 2009 it replaced the Pan American Judo Union with the Pan American Judo Confederation. [5]
In September 2021, Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine and his coach Amar Benikhlef were suspended for 10 years by the IJF after Nourine refused to fight an Israeli athlete during the 2020 Summer Olympics. [6] Nourine said his political support for the Palestinians in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict made it impossible for him to compete against Israeli athletes. [7]
The IJF initially named Russian President Vladimir Putin its honorary president and IJF Ambassador in 2008. [8] However, that status was suspended [8] [9] and then stripped [10] in 2022, in reaction to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The IJF also cancelled all competitions in Russia, but allowed their athletes to compete as neutrals in individual and team competitions. [11] [12]
IJF President Marius Vizer, a long-time close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, wanted to let Russians and Belarusians continue to compete as neutral athletes despite the invasion of Ukraine and subsequent Ukrainian pressure to suspend them entirely. [12] Ultimately, both national federations withdrew on their own accord, until June 2022 when they returned. [12] Ukraine boycotted IJF events beginning in June 2022 because the Russian team was allowed to compete in and entered competitions. Judo is one of the few Olympic sports which goes against the recommendation of the International Olympic Committee. [13]
The IJF announced on 29 April 2023, the last day of event registration for the 2023 World Championships, that Russian and Belarusian athletes would be allowed to participate as individual neutral athletes following background checks. [14] [15] [16] Following the announcement, twenty Russian and Belarusian athletes were registered and entered into the championships. [15] [17] [18] Of the twenty, at least five were reported to have ties with the Russian Armed Forces, [15] [19] despite the IOC's suggestion to deny participation of athletes who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies. [15] [20] In protest, the Ukrainian team withdrew from the championships. [15] [17] [19]
Amar Benikhlef is an Algerian judoka who competed in the middleweight division. He won the silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. In September 2021, Benikhlef was suspended for 10 years, until July 2031 for "a clear and very serious breach of the IJF Statutes, the IJF Code of Ethics and the Olympic Charter.".
The most popular sport in Russia is soccer. According to Yandex search analysis results rating of the most popular sports among Russians: "Football topped the list of the most popular sports in Russia" with 5 to 10 million requests. Ice hockey came in second with handball, basketball, futsal, boxing, auto racing, volleyball, athletics, tennis, and chess rounding out the top ten rankings. Other popular sports include bandy, biathlon, figure skating, weightlifting, gymnastics, wrestling, martial arts, rugby union, and skiing.
The 2007 World Judo Championships are the 25th edition of the Judo World Championships, and were held at the Rio Olympic Arena, usually called Arena Multiuso, that was built for the 2007 Pan-American Games, in Jacarepaguá, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from September 13 to September 16, 2007.
Boycotts of Israel in sports refer to various disqualifications and denial of Israeli athletes. As part of a more or less systematic boycott of Israel, Israeli athletes and teams have been barred from some competitions. In many international competitions, where Israel does take part, such as the Olympic Games, some Arab and Muslim competitors avoid competing against Israelis. Some countries, most notably Iran, even compel their athletes not to compete against Israelis or in Israel.
Judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo featured around 393, 128 judoka competing in 15 events, seven each for both men and women as well as a new mixed team event. The 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the judo competitions were held in July 2021 at Nippon Budokan.
Shira Rishony is an Israeli Olympic lightweight judoka. She competes at U48 kg. She competed for Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics she won a bronze medal in the mixed team event, and placed 5th in the women's 48 kg event. She won a bronze medal at the 2022 European Championship. Rishony will represent Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in judo in the women's 48 kg on 27 July 2024, and in the mixed team event.
Saeid Mollaei is an Iranian half-middleweight judoka. He was born in Tehran to ethnic Azerbaijani parents originally from Khoy. In 2001, at the age of 10, he entered the Persian Gulf Judo School by Dr. Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, a judo instructor. Iranian authorities ordered Mollaei to intentionally lose in the semi-final at the Tokyo 2019 World Championships, so as to avoid a potential match in the finals against Israeli 2019 world champion Sagi Muki. In August 2019, he moved to Europe with a two-year visa from Germany, saying he was afraid to return to Iran after exposing and criticizing its pressure on him to deliberately lose in the World Championships. In December 2019, he became a citizen of Mongolia. He dedicated his 2020 Olympic medal to Mongolia and Mongol People and to Israel. From May 2022 on, Mollaei represents Azerbaijan.
Baruch Shmailov is an Israeli Olympic judoka. He competes in the under 66 kg weight category, and won a gold medal in the 2022 World Masters in Jerusalem. Shmailov also won a bronze in the 2017 World Masters, as well as a silver at the 2018 World Masters. As of December 2022, Shmailov was ranked #3 in -66 kg weight category. He competed for Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics, finishing in fifth place in the individual competition and winning a bronze medal in the mixed team. He has reached a high world ranking of third in 2019, 2022, and 2024. Shmailov will represent Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in judo in the men's 66 kg event on 28 July 2024, and in the mixed team event.
Tohar Butbul is an Israeli Olympic judoka. He competes in the under 73 kg weight category, where he won silver medals at the 2019 Judo World Masters and the 2021 European Championships, and won bronze medals in the 2017 Paris Grand Slam and 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam. As of March 2018 he was ranked #9 in the world in the U73 kg division. He was a member of the Israeli team that won a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Butbul will represent Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in judo in the men's 73 kg event on 29 July 2024, and in the mixed team event.
Peter Paltchik is a Ukrainian-born Israeli former European champion and Olympic judoka, competing in the under 100 kg weight category, of which he is the current number 1 ranked Judoka in the world. Paltchik won the bronze medal at the 2018 European Judo Championships in Tel Aviv. In 2019 he won the Israeli championship in the 100+ Kg category. He then won the gold medal at the 2020 European Judo Championships in Prague. Paltchik also won a bronze medal in the mixed team judo competition in the 2021 Olympics. At the 2023 World Judo Championships he won a bronze medal. Paltchik will represent Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in judo in the men's 100 kg event on 1 August 2024, and in the mixed team event.
Algeria competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place in the summer of 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the nation's debut in 1964, Algerian athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, with the exception of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal because of the African boycott. Unlike Algeria's previous successes in the Summer Olympics, they failed to secure a single medal.
The Men's 73 kg competition in judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo was held on 26 July 2021 at the Nippon Budokan.
Marius Vizer is a Romanian former judoka and judo coach, and businessman. Since 2007, he has been the president of the International Judo Federation. Vizer also holds an Austrian passport.
Inbar Lanir is an Israeli Olympic judoka and 2023 world champion. She competes in the under 78 kg weight category. In addition to winning the 2023 world championship, she won gold medals at the 2023 World Masters and 2023 Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam. Lanir will represent Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in judo in the women's 78 kg on 1 August 2024, and in the mixed team event.
Fethi Nourine is an Algerian judoka, who has competed in the under 73 kg weight category, and won three African Judo Championships. Nourine has been suspended by the International Judo Federation until July 2031 for refusing to fight an Israeli athlete at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
The 2022 Judo Grand Slam Ulaanbaatar was held at the Steppe Arena in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, from 24 to 26 June 2022 as part of the IJF World Tour and during the 2024 Summer Olympics qualification period. After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, all of the other 31 Summer Olympic sports organizations other than the IJF have suspended Russian and Belarusian athletes from their competitions. But IJF President Marius Vizer, a long-time close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, wanted instead to let Russians and Belarusians continue to compete as neutral athletes. Ukraine boycotted the event because the Russian team was allowed to compete; Russia entered 24 competitors in the competition. Allowing Russians to compete went against the recommendation of the International Olympic Committee.
Israel is scheduled to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris from 26 July to 11 August 2024. This will be the nation's 18th appearance at the Summer Olympics, except for Moscow 1980 due to the United States-led boycott. The participation of Israel prompted calls from twenty-six French lawmakers, Palestinian, and other global sports organizations for sanctions against Israel and to prevent its participation due to the impact of the Israel–Hamas war on Palestinian athletes and sports facilities, but IOC President Thomas Bach confirmed this was never an issue for the IOC and cautioned athletes against boycotts and discrimination. The president of the Olympic Committee of Israel, Yael Arad, assured that Israeli athletes would "100 per cent" be present, with safety measures in place.
The 2023 World Judo Championships were held at the Ali Bin Hamad al-Attiyah Arena in Doha, Qatar, from 7 to 14 May 2023 as part of the IJF World Tour and during the 2024 Summer Olympics qualification period, concluding with a mixed team event on the final day.
Boubekeur Rebahi is an Algerian, male Judo player, who played in both local and international championships. He played in Tunisia, Oran, Morocco and Belgium. He weighs 66 kg. It should be remembered that Algeria was tagged the most successful nation for African Judo Championships in 2022. Prior to that in 2021, Algerian Judo player named Fethi Nourine was banned for 10 years from competition by the International Judo Federation with his coach, Amar Benikhlef receiving 10 years ban, as well when they withdrew from facing an Israeli opponent in the second round of men's competition at the Boudakan. The duo revealed that they pulled out from the competition in support for the Palestinians.
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