The German national Para Judo team is preparing to compete for medals at the upcoming European Para Judo Championships in Heidelberg, scheduled for August 14 through August 16, 2026. National coach Carmen Bruckmann has selected a youthful, competitive roster to represent the host nation at the SNP dome, aiming to leverage home-mat advantage on the international stage.
Tournament Venue and Infrastructure in Heidelberg
Competition action will unfold inside the SNP dome in Heidelberg, a modern, fully accessible arena built in 2021 that seats over 4,000 spectators, according to official reports from the German Judo Federation. Tournament organizers have designed the event around short transit routes for delegations and fans alike. The venue, accommodations, railway station, training sites, and official classification areas are all located within a 1.5-kilometer radius.
Furthermore, the location houses Germany’s first federal performance center for Para Judo at the Olympic training base in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. According to Marc Möllmann, head of high-performance sport at the German Paralympic Committee (DBS), the successful 2024 Grand Prix served as a vital trial run. Möllmann noted that the region possesses the infrastructure to host top-tier international competitions and that organizers intend to elevate the sport nationwide while offering athletes an ideal competitive stage.
The German National Selection
Spectators attending the tournament will benefit from free admission throughout the event.
The men’s squad features Daniel-Rafael Goral (aged 26, representing SSG Blista Marburg / SF BG-Marburg e.V., born in Hamburg), Béla Bel Heinze (21, 1. Mannheimer JC, from Braunschweig), Lennart Sass (26, Rendsburg TSV, from Kiel), and Samuel van Melle (18, TSV München-Großhadern von 1926 e.V., from Oberschleißheim). The women’s roster includes Isabell Thal (27, Budoka Höntrop e.V., from Essen) and Vanessa Wagner (24, 1. Mannheimer JC, from Görlitz).
Lennart Sass Targets Title Defense on Home Soil
Among the headliners for the German team is 26-year-old Lennart Sass, who secured a victory in his weight class at the Heidelberg Grand Prix two years prior. Sass, a native of Kiel who currently lives, studies, and trains in Heidelberg, enters the tournament focused on defending his European title.
“I am looking forward to a strong event where I want to defend my European title,” Sass stated, as reported by the German Judo Federation. “I am hardworking in training, fully motivated, and thankfully uninjured, so I am confident that I can successfully defend my title at home.”
Sass faces a demanding late-summer schedule. Immediately following the European Championships, he is set to tackle the written state examinations required for his law degree, followed by a trip to Georgia in October for the World Championships.
Media Access and Official Schedule
Ahead of the opening bouts, the German Paralympic Committee has scheduled an official press conference for media representatives on August 13, 2026, at 12:30 local time (UTC+2) at the Atlantic Hotel Heidelberg on Europaplatz. The briefing follows the official tournament draw, with Lennart Sass and coach Carmen Bruckmann scheduled to participate in background interviews.
Competition formally gets underway on August 14 at the SNP dome, running through August 16. Fans and followers seeking comprehensive background on classification rules and tournament structure can consult educational resources provided via the official parasport.de platform.
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