Paris Grand Slam 2026FranceNAKANO KantaOTA HyogaKIM MinjongSPIJKERS Jur

+100 kg: The Sun Rises Twice in Paris

Feb 8, 2026
by: Jo Crowley
Jack Willingham, Gabriela Sabau, Tamara Kulumbegashvili
An all-Japanese final assigned the last medals of the 2026 Paris Grand Slam. Hyoga Ota and Kanta Nakano. Aware that the other could throw at any moment, both judoka hung back, unwilling to make what could be a costly mistake. The referee reminded them that they must come forward and engage, with a shido apiece. A minute later they required another!
Final, Hyoga Ota (JPN) vs Kanta Nakano (JPN).
Final, Hyoga Ota (JPN) vs Kanta Nakano (JPN).

Nakano received the message clearly and began to attack more, leaving Ota to accept a third shido and the silver medal.

Final, Hyoga Ota (JPN) and Kanta Nakano (JPN).
Final, Hyoga Ota (JPN) and Kanta Nakano (JPN).

Irakli Demetrashvili (GEO) had to take on world and Olympic medallist Minjong Kim (KOR) for the chance to step on to the podium of the Accor Arena. He won his first World Judo Tour medals only last year, in Abu Dhabi and Kazakhstan but has not yet found the form he had as a cadet when he won the world -18 title, in 2019. He is working at it though and in Paris he gave Kim a very hard time. Kim is not one to shy away from hard work though and with only 20 seconds left on the clock, he applied a rapid o-soto-gari and knocked the Georgian down for a yuko. It was enough.

Bronze medal contest, Irakli Demetrashvili (GEO) vs Minjong Kim (KOR).
Bronze medal contest, Irakli Demetrashvili (GEO) vs Minjong Kim (KOR).

Demetrashvili will be back and is likely to be seen on WJT podia again in the future, but for now, Minjong Kim has another great medal to add to his ever-growing and impressive collection.

Bronze medal contest, Artem Zolotukhin (RUS) vs Jur Spijkers (NED).
Bronze medal contest, Artem Zolotukhin (RUS) vs Jur Spijkers (NED).

In the last medal match of the day, Jur Spijkers (NED) and Artem Zolotukhin (RUS) delivered an action-packed finale. Both hunted scores, both defended well but no decision could be made until 7 minutes of fighting time had passed. Spijkers, the more active of the two, would leave Paris with the medal after his opponent was given 3 penalties.

Competition Results

+100 kg

Final

Hyoga OTA
JPN
vs
Kanta NAKANO
JPN

Bronze Medal Contests

Irakli DEMETRASHVILI
GEO
vs
Minjong KIM
KOR
Artem ZOLOTUKHIN
RUS
vs
Jur SPIJKERS
NED