Gefen Primo Wins Gold at Lausanne Grand Slam Judo Tournament

Gefen Primo, the 26-year-old Israeli judoka, achieved a significant victory by winning the gold medal in the under-52 kg category at the Grand Slam judo competition held in Lausanne, Switzerland. Primo began her day with a yuko win over Poland's Aleksandra Kliuta, followed by an ippon victory against Germany's Chiara Sara in the round of 16, and another ippon win over Russia's Leila Nguaeva in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, she defeated European Championship bronze medalist Ariana Toro Soler from Spain by yuko, advancing to the final against Blandine Pont from France, a European silver medalist and 2026 Kazakhstan Grand Slam gold medalist. Primo secured the gold by winning in golden score after Pont received her third penalty.

The Israeli national team's head coach, Shani Rashko, praised Primo's performance, highlighting her consistent high-level ability throughout the day and noting the victory as a significant achievement within the Olympic qualification process for Los Angeles 2028. Rashko called the win a valuable bonus and a hopeful sign for Israeli judo on Swiss soil.

Other Israeli competitors faced early exits: Ilai Hayon lost in the first round of the under-52 kg category to Italy's Iaria Pinstorn by ippon. In the under-57 kg category, Tamna Nelson Levy and Inbal Shemesh were eliminated early; Levy lost by ippon to Russia's Irina Tsoeva, while Shemesh won her first match by ippon against Turkmenistan's Midin Urtzaniazova but was defeated by Russia's Natalia Elkina. Yehonatan Veksler, competing in the under-60 kg category, won his first two matches but lost to Brazil's Michael Augusto, who took bronze. Matan Kokleib, in the under-66 kg category, opened with a notable win over Olympic silver medalist Vazha Margashvili of Georgia but was later defeated by South Korea's Chainyong Kim by ippon.