The city of Montpellier will host the European Championships of judo in November 2023 and will serve as a base camp for French judo for the preparation of the Olympic and Paralympic Games of 2024 in Paris, announced Friday the city, the region and the federation.
“The European Championships will be held at the Sud de France Arena in Montpellier from November 2 to 5, 2023,” said the mayor of Montpellier, Michaël Delafosse, on the sidelines of a visit to the Expertise and Performance Resource Center sports (Creps) in Montpellier, where the French judo team is currently training.
“With nearly 700 judokas welcomed, it will be a rehearsal for all the athletes of the continent, and particularly the French, a few months before the Olympic Games (July 26-August 11, 2024) and Paralympic Games (August 28-September 8) in Paris” , said Mr. Delafosse, quoted in a press release, in which Carole Delga, president of the Occitanie region, is also delighted to host the competition.
“France Judo is happy to choose Montpellier as the Paris-2024 base camp. The reasons for this choice are justified by the quality of the facilities made available, but also by the desire of the city of Montpellier to promote judo on its territory”, for his part declared the president of the French Judo Federation, Stéphane Nomis, present Friday in Montpellier.
In 2021, French judokas were the biggest providers of Tokyo Olympics medals for France, with eight podiums, including two titles.
