The overall assessment is positive. Attention now turns to the season’s highlight.
Five events, three medals—and a positive outcome. “This was a very special European Championship for us,” said Carmen Bruckmann, coach of the German national Para-Judo team, after the home European Championships in Heidelberg: “I’m very satisfied with our performance. We’ve seen that we’re competitive on the international stage, and at the same time, we’ve witnessed how our young athletes thrive on such challenges.”
In the absence of Lennart Sass, who was not allowed to compete due to an unresolved classification issue, Isabell Thal and Daniel Goral took silver. Vanessa Wagner also won a surprise bronze medal after a lengthy break from competition. “I’m incredibly happy because I was prepared for anything, but not for winning a medal here in Heidelberg,” said Wagner.
But their sights were already set on the future. The World Championships will take place in Tbilisi, Georgia, from September 25 to 27. “We’re going there to win medals, too,” Bruckmann emphasized. Sass, a Paralympic bronze medalist, now hopes that his classification will be finalized by then.