Successful start to the season – podium places for Fuldaer JC in Jena

Jena (oz/jk) – At the 26th International Savings Banks Cup last weekend in Jena, the judoka of the 1st Fulda Judo Club were able to convince again and won two gold, one silver and four bronze medals at the start of the season. Franziska Lomb (U18, 52 kilograms) and Rabea Hohmann (U18, 63 kilograms) secured gold and thus one of the coveted trophies.

The young judoka of the 1st Fuldaer JC in Jena had a perfect start to the season. With 730 participants from Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic, the International Savings Bank Cup of JC Jena was again a strong tournament. The young athletes in the age groups U11, U13, U15 and U18 showed their skills in more than 870 fights last Saturday and Sunday. Franziska Lomb and Rabea Hohmann provided the highlight from a Fulda perspective. In front of U18 national coach Christopher Schwarzer, they couldn’t be beaten that day and were happy about their well-deserved victory. On Saturday, the age groups U13 started first. In the female U13, Marharyta Sharova and Lea Rudolphi each won a bronze medal. In the male U13 Ivan Federenko contributed a silver medal and Adrian Schenkel another bronze medal to Fulda’s success. Cord Schmidt, who was unable to assert himself in the heavily occupied field of participants, remained without a placement. In the afternoon, the U18 age group started the competition. Both Franziska Lomb and Rabea Hohmann were unbeatable that day. For Franziska Lomb it was the first tournament in her new age group U18. She confidently continued the successes of the previous year and after five victories was able to celebrate victory in the tournament. Rabea Hohmann also showed again that she is a force to be reckoned with in the U18 age group. With four early wins, she marched through the tournament unchallenged. Her brother Fabian Hohmann initially had to admit defeat after losing the first game against Benjamin Raabe (JC Leipzig). In the subsequent consolation round he met Raabe again after a bye and a win in the third round. In a strong fight, Hohmann got his revenge, won easily and made it into the small final. Here, too, Hohmann kept the upper hand and, after an early victory, was able to celebrate the bronze medal. A great start at the 1st Fulda Judo Club for the two Neuhöfer judoka, who together with Lara Schäfer switched from Kodokan Neuhof to the Fulda club at the start of the year.

On Sunday the fights took place in the age groups U11 and U15. It was the first tournament at this high level for the young U11 athletes Leo Schlaudraff, Jan Hartmann and Julius Michel. They haven’t been able to place themselves yet, but they’ve gained a lot of competition practice. Ben Hartmann, Maximilian Michel and Max Schlaudraff also did their best to defend themselves in their new U15 age group, but did not win any medals at this tournament. Coach Mike Thiel was happy about the potential of the three U15 judoka, who as the youngest year now have to gain a foothold in the new age group. Next year they will definitely win one or two medals in Jena. “All in all, it was an extremely successful start to the new competition year,” summed up Thiel. “We saw a lot of strong fights with very variable judo techniques at the weekend. We are on the right track and with diligent training we will be successful.” In addition to the great performance at the start of the season, the 1st Fulda Judo Club also congratulates Konstantin Lomb and Lara Schäfer on their appointment to the U21s, as well as Franziska Lomb, Rabea and Fabian Hohmann on his appointment to the U18 squad in Hessen. The club wishes them every success in the upcoming tournaments and squad measures. With the Hohmann and Lara Schäfer siblings moving to Fulda, the five squad athletes can now prepare together for the upcoming Hessian Championships at the beginning of February.