Late escapes and last-minute scores close Dakar 2026 judo with Brazil and Lithuania on top

A final day decided late

Judo at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games ended the way its last champions deserved: with patience tested, pressure survived and medals decided in the closing exchanges. On Tuesday 3 November, at the Dakar Expo Centre in Diamniadio, Senegal, the final two weight categories — women's −78 kg and men's −100 kg — closed three days of competition that had already produced new names, historic firsts and finals settled by a single score.

Vallim survives, then finishes

Clarisse Vallim of Brazil won the women's −78 kg title by refusing to be beaten first. In the final against Anastasiia Dobrovolskaia of Russia, the early exchanges in tachi-waza gave way to a powerful spell of ne-waza from Dobrovolskaia, who created chances through a hold-down, a strangle and an armlock. Vallim defended with remarkable resolve, keeping the contest alive when surrender might have seemed the easier option.

As the final minute began, she signalled that she was still hunting for victory, producing a tremendous seoi-otoshi that lacked only the finish required to score. The decisive moment then came in the very area where she had earlier been in danger. Returning to the ground, Vallim secured a hold-down, maintained control and scored ippon as the contest drew to its close. Gold belonged to Brazil, and the medal ceremony underlined the occasion: medals were presented by Paula Pareto, Olympic and world champion and International Olympic Committee member, and Clarisse Agbegnenou, Olympic and world champion and Athlete Role Model for Dakar 2026.

The women's bronze medals went to Selina Woegerer of Austria and Yue Cheng of China. Woegerer settled the first bronze-medal contest swiftly, taking control on the ground after an unsuccessful attack by Arba Hasanaj of Kosovo and pinning her opponent for ippon. Cheng received the other bronze after Kayla Pita Zorrilla of Cuba was unable to compete.

Babaicenko finds the one score

The men's −100 kg final was a different kind of test. Tajus Babaicenko of Lithuania and Jurabek Eshpulatov of Uzbekistan fought a demanding battle for grips, with Babaicenko seeking to use his greater reach to establish control. Neither judoka could afford to offer an opening, and the contest remained finely balanced for much of its duration.

As it moved towards its conclusion, Babaicenko finally found the breakthrough, scoring a yuko in the closing moments. It was enough. One score separated the finalists, and the Youth Olympic title went to Lithuania. Medals in this category were presented by Pareto and Estony Pridgeon, a member of the International Judo Federation Executive Committee.

Igiraneza turns a deficit into bronze

The day's most stirring performance, however, came in a bronze-medal contest. Don de Dieu Igiraneza of Burundi trailed Asmar Sharif of Tajikistan, who had taken the lead with a yuko after a sequence that required video review. Igiraneza responded by attacking relentlessly, with powerful o-soto-gari attempts and left-sided hip techniques keeping the pressure on. Entering the final minute, Sharif still appeared to be managing his advantage.

Igiraneza continued to believe. Committing fully to another attack, this time on the right-hand side, he found the decisive movement and threw for ippon. In an instant, a contest he had been chasing became a bronze medal for Burundi — a podium with meaning far beyond one young athlete, for a country working to strengthen its place in international judo. In the second men's bronze-medal contest, Naito Arai of Japan produced a decisive ippon against Agostinho Joao of Angola.

Silver with pride, and a wider picture

For Dobrovolskaia, silver still carried pride. "I am so happy to win this medal, but I would have loved to win the gold medal," she said afterwards, adding that she was proud to represent her country. She began judo at seven, after her parents took her to the sport, and now trains twice a day.

The final day also completed a picture shaped the previous day. On 2 November, Germany's Jolina Reinhold won the women's −63 kg title with ippon against India's Khushbu Rajakbhai Darjada, whose silver was only the second Youth Olympic judo medal won by India. Slovenia's Maks Cebulj took the men's −81 kg gold by a single yuko against Iran's Sobhan Hakimi, while Kazakhstan's Fatima Supygaliyeva won the women's −52 kg crown by ippon against Portugal's Sofia Gaspar in 2 minutes 33 seconds.

Across three days, Dakar's judo competition offered a fitting conclusion to its first chapter at these Games: courage under pressure, patience in search of an opening, and the conviction to keep attacking when time was running out. Vallim's resistance, Babaicenko's patience and Igiraneza's determination gave the last day its distinct character — and left each of them with a performance their countries will remember.