Julie Hölterhoff kickstarted her day with a convincing Waza-Ari win against Kazakhstan’s Zamzagul Faizullanova in the opening fight. "It was a must-win for Julie," her coach Lorenz Trautmann told us. Last year, she had lost to French judoka Liz Ngelebeya in the same competition, but this time, Hölterhoff turned the tables, winning with Ippon in under two minutes.

In the semi-finals, Hölterhoff faced Japanese judoka Mao Izumi. Although she displayed tactical prowess, Izumi exploited a moment of inattention, securing Waza-Ari and then a ground hold technique. Hölterhoff advanced to the bronze medal match.

Greece’s Elizavet Teltsidou, the current Vice European champion, awaited Hölterhoff in the final fight for bronze. In a back-and-forth battle, Hölterhoff earnt three Yukos, while Teltsidou had just one. With mere seconds left, Hölterhoff secured a stunning Ippon, winning the bronze medal.

"The fight against Teltsidou was huge. Julie took the Greek down impressively and has now proven her status at the Grand Slam level," Trautmann praised.

The second participant in the women’s -78 kg class, Lea Schmid (JZ Heubach-BW), faced Teltsidou in her opening fight and unfortunately lost, moving her out of the competition.