Romane Dicko came through on Sunday in Sofia, Bulgaria at the European Judo Championships hitting Israel's Raz Hershko with a big throw for a full point in the women's heavyweight finals to give France their third gold medal of the tournament, the most of any nation. For the 2020 Olympic bronze medalist, it was her third European championship at just the age of 22.

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The tournament saw some surprises as several world and Olympic champions went down to defeat early on in the competition. Among those who departed without medaling was two-time world champion and Olympic bronze medalist Daria Bilodid of Ukraine. Bilodid was obviously facing a difficult situation having left her war torn country to train in Spain for the event and was also attempting to move up in weight. But Bogdan Iadov provided a bright spot for Ukrainian judo fans managing to capture the men's 66 kg division in the feel good story of the tournament.