Quadruple triumph of the judoka of the 1st JC Zweibrücken at the Palatinate Championship

It was a performance that makes you want more – and that even gives reason to hope for a lively participation in Zweibrücken at the German Championships for Young Judoists: At the Saar-Palatinate Individual Championships for under-18 and under-21 year-olds, all six athletes of the 1st Judoclub Zweibrücken were able to qualify for the Southwest German Championships in Heusweiler last weekend. Four of the six Zweibrücken judoka even left the “Judomaxx” in Speyer as Saar-Palatinate champions.

A highlight of the title fights: the exciting duel between Zweibrücker Till Braunbach and Samuel Mendel from JSV Speyer, who belongs to the extended national squad of the U21. JCZ trainer Hendrik Harth spoke of a “technically demanding” and “qualitatively good fight”. In the end, Braunbach came out on top and, as the first place in the weight class up to 66 kilograms, was able to show why he should also be one of the favorites in Heusweiler.

Just as confidently as Braunbach, Joya Bloche also won the championship title for the 1. JCZ in the U21 women (up to 52 kilos). “Both of them really dominated their weight classes,” praised Harth. 18-year-old Braunbach trains at the base in Stuttgart, while Bloche, who comes from Saarbrücken, trains at the federal base in Cologne.

“If the two are in normal form, then they would have to qualify for the German championships in Heusweiler,” said Stephan Hahn – also a trainer at JCZ – with a view to the Southwest German championships this weekend in Saarland. The best four fighters in a weight class qualify there for the DM. February for the U18 in Leipzig and for the U21 on 4./5. March in Frankfurt/Oder.

The only fly in the ointment: Joya Blöcher is currently suffering from a cold. So far she has not had a fever, reported Hahn. For the time being, the trainers did not see the start in Heusweiler as endangered: “As I know Joya, a cold would never stop her from competing,” said Harth.

With Fiona Finger (up to 70 kilos), who had not taken part in competitions for a long time, and Davin Mauser (up to 50 kilos), the 1. JCZ in Speyer also had two Saar-Palatinate champions in the U18 age group. In particular, Mauser, who had four strong opponents in front of his chest and “mastered all the fights very confidently”, also believes Harth could finish among the top four this weekend.

Jan-Philipp Kehrer (up to 60 kilos) from Zweibrücken, on the other hand, had a hard time struggling. Kehrer only recently moved up to a new weight and age class and therefore mostly had to deal with significantly heavier opponents, reported Harth: “These were physically tough fights for him.” Nevertheless, Kehrer could cause a surprise at the weekend. As his trainer revealed, he will fight in Heusweiler again in his old weight class (up to 55 kilos). In the meantime he has lost a few hundred grams again.