World Championships, Chelyabinsk 2014 DAY 4

Day four of the World Championships delivered some incredible moments of sublime judo and raw emotion as two judoka claimed their first senior world titles at the Traktor Sport Arena on Thursday.

New champions were crowned in the women’s -63kg and men’s –81kg categories as two favourites topped the podium on a day when 105 judoka were in action.

France and Georgia clinched their first gold medals in Chelyabinsk as favourites Clarisse AGBEGNENOU (FRA) and Avtandili TCHRIKISHVILI (GEO) won the finest honour of their careers on the biggest stage on the World Judo Tour.

Outside the venue fans have enjoyed the Judo Park facilities which have also attracted the athletes and judo legends from around the world.

Wednesday’s -57kg gold medallist UDAKA Nae (JPN) had a picture with the World Championships mascot Zhorik and stopped to pose for pictures with a crowd of fans who gathered around her.

The lively atmosphere in the Traktor Sport Arena was matched by the scenes at the Judo Park which featured a photo zone, a judo square with a tatami for fans to try judo, arts and craft, live music and a big screen so fans could keep pace with the action.

After four days of competition, Japan remain top of the medal table with four gold medals while France had a resurgence today to move to second with one gold and three bronze medals.

The fifth day of Chelyabinsk 2014 will showcase three categories as the fate of the men’s -90kg gold medal and women’s -70kg and -78kg gold medals will be decided.

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