World’s Visually Impaired Judokas to Compete in France

Last week, the 2006 IBSA Judo World Championships started in Brommat, France, with over 200 visually impaired athletes of all weight categories from more than 40 countries.

From 29 June to 3 July, the championships brought together athletes from all over the world to fight for medals and titles. In addition, the event was the first in a series of qualifying championships for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

Winners in the men’s individual categories were:
- 60 kg  Saeed RAHMATI (Iran)
- 66 kg  Victor SANCHEZ (Cuba)
- 73 kg  Shakhban KURBANOV (Russia)
- 81 kg  Cyril JONARD (France)
- 90 kg  Tofig MAMMADOV (Azerbaijan)
- 100 kg  Antonio SILVA (Brazil)
+ 100 kg  Yangaliny GIMENEZ (Cuba)

The men’s overall title was won by Cuba followed by France in second place and Azerbaijan in third.

Winners in the women’s individual categories were:
- 48 kg  Carmen BRUSSIG (Germany)
- 52 kg  Sandrine AURIERES (France)
- 57 kg  Ramona BRUSSIG (Germany)
- 63 kg  Marta ARCE (Spain)
- 70 kg  Sandorne NAGY (Hungary)
- 78 kg  Lanmei XUE (China)
+ 78 kg  Yanping YUAN (China)

With these results, Germany took the overall women’s title. Russia edged out the hosts France to take second place.

An IBSA Judo Assembly was also hosted during the championships to discuss several issues and select an athletes’ representative of the sport. A one-week training course for athletes, referees and coaches also followed the championships.

Judo was introduced as a Paralympic Games sport in Seoul in 1988 and is widely practiced in several countries by both male and female athletes. The ATHENS 2004 Paralympics were the first time that women competed in Judo.

For more information about the championships, please visit the official website at http://www.brommat2006.com.