Daria Bilodid awarded as best female judoka by the IJF

The IJF have elected two of their biggest judo stars at the end of the in the occasion of the first edition of the Judofestival. An online broadcast of 17 hours with interviews, explanation about topics such as dealing with the corona virus and of course the election of athletes in various categories.

Ukraine super star Daria Bilodid was elected as the winner of the female judoka of the year 2019-2020. The double world champion in poised to win the Olympic title but had to wait another year and stay in her category U48kg. She won the Grand Slam in Paris this year.

Georgia’s Lukhumi Chkhvimiani was elected as athlete of the year 2019-2020. He became World Champion in 2019. This year the world champion didn’t book any result whereas Peter Paltchik and An Ba-Ul were the only two male athlete to win two IJF World Tour events in 2020, taking the gold at the Grand Prix in Tel Aviv and gold at the Paris Grand Slam. Paltchik also won the European title and would be JudoInside’s choice for this year. For female we would give Shirine Boukli the award, she showed a tremendous development in 2020.

Another Israeli, Sagi Muki was honoured for the ippon of the year.

Further awards went to Kosei Inoue as coach of the year. Inoue showed his empathy for the athletes who didn’t qualify for the Olympic Games in Tokyo during a press conference, despite being an amazing coach and former Olympic and World Champion.

Georgian judoka Tato Grigalashvili was elected as Rising star 2019-2020. Grigalashvili who turned 21 in December won the European U23 title, followed by the senior European title and was the best at the Grand Slam in Düsseldorf in February.

Community Hero Award 2019 - 2020

Paula Pareto (ARG). Paula is a role model on and off the tatami, especially in this period of pandemic.

Judo For Peace Award 2019 - 2020

'Judo for Fred' (NOR) in Aghanistan. JFF has been active in Afghanistan for many years, helping street children and underprivileged people to overcome the difficult situation faced by the country.

National Federation Sponsor Project Award 2019 - 2020

German Judo Federation - Judo for All. The topic of inclusion is very important and the German Judo Association tries to connect people via judo. Together with 'Aktion Mensch,' the largest private funding organisation in Germany, many measures and projects were implemented. The 'Judo for ALL' project is aimed at enabling self-determined and equal participation for people with disabilities.

Judo for Children Award 2019 - 2020

Flavio Canto - Instituto Reação (BRA). Instituto Reação, created by Flavio Canto, has been working for many years in Brazil and especially in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, to offer a better life to thousands of children.