Andreja Leski of Slovenia has made history by becoming the Olympic champion, further cementing the legacy of Slovenian women in judo. Leski is now the third Slovenian woman to win the title in the last four Olympic cycles, following in the footsteps of Urska Zolnir in 2012 and Tina Trstenjak in 2016.
In a thrilling final, Leski faced Prisca Awiti-Alcaraz of Mexico. The Mexican judoka started strong, scoring a waza-ari with her lightning-fast tomoe-nage. However, Leski fought back fiercely, eventually throwing Awiti-Alcaraz for a waza-ari and securing her victory with a second score.
Mexico celebrated a historic silver, marking their first-ever judo medal. Previously, their best performance had been a ninth-place finish. The gold, however, returned to Slovenia, adding to their proud judo tradition.
After the final, a jubilant Andreja Leski shared her emotions: "Tina won silver in Tokyo, and now with my gold, I feel our victory is together. It’s for her, me, and Slovenia. My cousin, who brought me to judo, kidded me when I lost at the worlds in Doha, saying I would win against Clarisse in Paris, and now it’s true."
The afternoon session began with a gripping repechage contest featuring Jisu Kim of Korea and Lubjana Piovesana of Austria. Both judokas had performed well in the morning, but Piovesana emerged victorious, winning by submission with a tight sankaku-jime to advance to the bronze medal contest.
In the first bronze medal contest, Clarisse Agbegnenou of France faced Piovesana. Agbegnenou, much to the delight of the French crowd, threw Piovesana for ippon with a massive harai-makikomi. Although the French hoped for gold, they celebrated Agbegnenou's bronze, acknowledging her remarkable talent.
The second bronze medal contest was nearly won by Katarina Kristo, who seemed to have countered Laura Fazliu. However, a review revealed that Kristo had touched the leg during the exchange, resulting in a third penalty and awarding Fazliu the bronze medal.
The second repechage contest was a dynamic and aggressive battle, with both athletes determined to win an Olympic medal. Fazliu, a 23-year-old world medallist from Kosovo, was not intimidated by her more experienced opponent, Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard. Fazliu threw Beauchemin-Pinard for waza-ari in golden score, securing her victory.
The arena erupted when Clarisse Agbegnenou stepped onto the tatami for her semi-final against her old rival Andreja Leski. Despite Agbegnenou's perfect record against Leski, the match was intense. Leski countered for a waza-ari with only 15 seconds remaining, securing her place in her first Olympic final and silencing the crowd.
Prisca Awiti-Alcaraz of Mexico made history with her incredible performance, reaching the semi-final to face another underdog, Katarina Kristo of Croatia. Awiti-Alcaraz, determined to break the mold, threw Kristo early and concluded with a juji-gatame, delivering a masterful performance worthy of an Olympic final.