Only eleven judokas will be competing for Germany in Baku. The squad is led by Miriam Butkereit and Anna Monta Olek.
Miriam Butkereit, silver medallist at the Paris Olympics, and world silver medallist Anna Monta Olek lead the German Judo Federation (DJB) squad for the World Championships in Baku from 4 to 11 October. With a squad of just eleven for the individual competitions, the DJB is travelling to the title matches in Azerbaijan, which serve as an important benchmark halfway to the 2028 Summer Olympics.
The women in particular, with Butkereit and Olek at the helm, go into the tournament with a chance of winning medals. Olek (silver), Butkereit and Mascha Ballhaus (both bronze), who has also been selected, secured the three individual medals for the German team last year in Budapest.
Only the Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Eduard Trippel and heavyweight Losseni Kone made the cut for Baku in the men’s competition; in addition, three further fighters are permitted to travel as part of the mixed team. Olympic competitor Timo Cavelius will not be in Azerbaijan after being knocked out and seriously injured by Leipzig’s Georgian fighter Akaki Japaridze during a Bundesliga bout.
The German squad for Baku:
Women: Sarah Ischt (Wolfsburg/48 kg), Mascha Ballhaus (Hamburg/52 kg), Seija Ballhaus (Munich/57 kg), Sara-Joy Bauer (Backnang), Friederike Stolze (Halle/both 63 kg), Miriam Butkereit (Halle), Giovanna Scoccimarro (Vorsfelde/both 70 kg), Alina Böhm (Düsseldorf), Anna Monta Olek (Hanover/both 78 kg)
