12 British Judoka Ready for Hungary Grand Slam in Budapest
September 10, 2026
This weekend, 12 British judoka will compete at the Hungary Grand Slam in Budapest as they look to challenge for medals and valuable Olympic qualification ranking points on the IJF World Tour.
Charlie Ayre (Tees Valley Judo) will compete in the -60kg category after an impressive run of form in 2026. Ayre has already claimed bronze on his Commonwealth Games debut, won his first IJF World Tour medal with silver at the Qingdao Grand Prix and added another silver medal at the Sofia European Open.
Michael Fryer (Rush Judo) lines up in the -66kg category looking to continue a strong year that has included bronze on his Commonwealth Games debut and a seventh-place finish at the Paris Grand Slam.
Joining him in the -66kg division is Charlie Young (Ryecroft JC). Young has recorded seventh-place finishes at both the Lima Grand Prix and the Lima Panamerican Open this year and will be aiming to build on those performances in Budapest.
Irakli Goginashvili (Palavani) heads into the -73kg category fresh from a fifth-place finish at the Junior European Championships. The 19-year-old has put together an outstanding run of results in 2026, including fifth at the Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam, silver at the La Nucía/Benidorm European Open and gold at the Kaunas Junior European Cup. He arrives in Budapest in excellent form and will be looking to challenge for another strong World Tour result.
Lachlan Moorhead (Penistone JC) continues his transition into the -90kg category. Budapest marks his fifth competition at the weight this year as he continues to gain valuable experience against a new group of international opponents.
In the -100kg category, Max Gregory (Drake JC) arrives with plenty of momentum after winning Commonwealth Games silver in Glasgow and finishing seventh at the Dushanbe Grand Slam. He will be looking to carry that form into another strong World Tour performance.
Summer Shaw (Camberley JC) returns to World Tour action in the -48kg category for just the second time in her career. The young judoka has already picked up bronze on her Commonwealth Games debut and at the Tallinn European Open, while also finishing fifth at the Prague European Open this year. Budapest provides another opportunity to test herself against one of the strongest fields on the circuit in her Grand Slam debut.
Tatum Keen (Bradley Stoke JC) will compete in the -52kg category after a series of impressive performances in 2026. Keen has claimed her first IJF World Tour medal with bronze at the Tbilisi Grand Slam, added Commonwealth Games bronze on her debut and finished fifth at the Grand Prix Upper Austria.
Acelya Toprak (Camberley JC) enters the -57kg competition in strong form. The Camberley judoka has already won Commonwealth Games gold this year and recorded fifth-place finishes at the Tbilisi Grand Slam, Lima Grand Prix and Senior European Championships. She will be looking to return to the medal positions in Budapest.
Also competing at -57kg is Chelsie Giles (Coventry JC), who makes her first competitive appearance of 2026. Giles last competed in November 2025, claiming silver at the Sarajevo European Open and bronze at the Prague European Open in that year. One of the most experienced athletes in the British squad, she returns to international competition looking to make an immediate impact in Budapest.
Kelly Petersen-Pollard (Hardy Spicer 83) heads into the -70kg category after claiming Commonwealth Games gold last month and recording a seventh-place finish at the Grand Prix Upper Austria earlier in 2026. She will be looking to add another strong World Tour result in Budapest.
Rounding off the British team is Emma Reid (Redbridge JC) in the -78kg category. Reid has been one of Britain’s standout performers this year, defending her Commonwealth Games title with a second gold medal in Glasgow and winning her first Senior European Championships medal with silver. She has also recorded fifth-place finishes at both the Qingdao and Tbilisi Grand Slams, and will be targeting another podium finish in Budapest.
