The Salzburg woman only had to admit defeat to the eventual winner at the European Open in Sofia.
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A week ago, Elena Dengg won gold up to 78 kg at the Austrian U23 Championships. At the European Open in Sofia, the Salzburg judo fighter competed internationally in her new weight class for the first time – and immediately secured bronze. Dengg was crowned junior world champion up to 70 kg in 2024, but she has now decided that she would rather take on heavier and larger opponents.
Change with an eye on the Olympics
“I find it very difficult, especially with smaller opponents. That’s almost gone now in the light heavyweight division,” explains the 21-year-old. “In addition, I recently had to lose almost five kilos of weight before each tournament. I managed it quite well, but in the Olympic qualification from June I will be competing in a lot of international tournaments, so I would lose a lot of substance in the medium term.”
In Sofia, Dengg only had to admit defeat to the eventual winner Lieke Derks from the Netherlands. With victories over Croatian Nika Jakus and Turkish Rumeysa Koto, she at least made it to the small final. There she prevailed against the Czech Stepanka Hujdarova with Ippon and thus secured bronze. ÖJV sports director Markus Moser was impressed: “Congratulations – Elena can be more than satisfied with this debut, she presented herself very strongly and was at her best both mentally and physically.” On Sunday, two of their club colleagues from Sanjindo Bischofshofen, Thomas Scharfetter and Michael Niederdorfer, will be in action.
