Herne/Holzwickede/Mannheim (pm/cb) – Another successful weekend lies behind the 1st Fulda Judo Club: At the German Association Team Championship U17, Michelle Müller, Fabian Hohmann and Franziska Lomb secured a bronze medal with the Hessen team. Rabea Hohmann, Lara Schöfer, Konstantin and Franziska Lomb achieved top ten placements at the national screening tournaments in Herne (U17 m), Holzwickede (U17 f) and Mannheim (U20 m/f).
There is currently no boredom at the 1st Fulda Judo Club, as one sporting highlight follows the next. Last Saturday, the German Judo Association organized two viewing tournaments. In Mannheim for the U20, the 47th international Wolfgang Welz Memorial Tournament, where, in addition to the German crème de la crème of judo sport, judokas from Belgium, the Netherlands and France also took part and for the U17 age group m/f the Sightings in Herne and in Holzwickede. In front of the national coaches, it was important to place yourself as high as possible and compete with the top Germans.
55 women and 142 men took part in Mannheim, including Lara Schäfer, Rabea Hohmann and Konstantin Lomb from the 1st Fulda Judo Club. After a victory in the opening encounter, Rabea Hohmann (-63 kilograms, 14 participants) lost to the eventual winner Salome Steinebrunner (Baden) and fought her way through the consolation round with victories against Aicha Deschepper (Berlin) and Luna Semoud (Saxony) to the small final . She was able to make it even against Katharina Müller (Bayern), but ultimately had to admit defeat and finished the tournament with fifth place.
The day was somewhat unfortunate for Lara Schäfer (-57 kilograms, eleven participants). After a bye, she first met the eventual winner Maya Patane from Brandenburg. And in the consolation round she also had to admit defeat to Irina Kreidin (Berlin) after another bye. Schäfer finished the tournament in seventh place. Konstantin Lomb also fought for seventh place in the -73 kilogram weight class, which was particularly strong with 34 participants. After a bye in the first round, he won against Magomed Aliev from the Palatinate. In the second round he had to admit defeat to Egor Nikitin (Baden) after a strong fight in the Golden Score. In the consolation round he emerged victorious against Julian Luic Nickel (Berlin) and Valentin Fleischle (Württemberg) before losing to Nouri Günther (North Rhine-Westphalia).
The federal competitions in Herne and Holzwickede were also very well attended with 237 male and 126 female judokas. In Herne, Fabian Hohmann competed in the -66 kilogram weight class (42 participants). After an opening win against Mykola Bakhtin from North Rhine-Westphalia, Hohmann was unfortunately unable to prevail in the strong field of participants and was eliminated without placing. For Franziska Lomb it was the first tournament after a four-month break due to illness. Lomb started with a bye and won in round two against Marlies Eckmann (Hamburg) before she had to admit defeat to the eventual winner Sophie Grace Storm (Bayern). In the consolation round she won against both Annemarie Kalbe (Schleswig-Holstein) and Milla Haase (Brandenburg). In the subsequent fight against Mia Loreen Gottschalk (Berlin), Lomb lost again and finished the tournament with ninth place.
Finally, on Sunday, the German Association Team Championship in the Mixed Team U17 took place in Herne. Fabian Hohmann, Michelle Müller and Franziska Lomb were nominated by the Hessian Judo Association. The 15-member Hessen team had big plans, as they were able to win a bronze medal last year. In Pool B, the team defeated Bayern in a play-off after a tie (6:6). And the score against the Saxony regional association was also 6:6 after the team competition. In an exciting play-off with over eleven minutes of fighting time, the team from Saxony ultimately came out on top. In the semi-finals, the Hessen team, as pool runners-up, met last year’s champions from North Rhine-Westphalia, who also secured the title this year. The atmosphere in the Hessen team was great, every athlete gave their best for the team and the atmosphere at the edge of the mat and in the hall was also impressive. With a bronze medal in their luggage, satisfied athletes began their journey home on Sunday afternoon.
