Goginashvili Continues to Shine in Benidorm
May 18, 2026
Irakli Goginashvili continued to underline his potential as he added a Silver medal to his growing list of accolades at the Benidorm European Open this weekend.
Goginashvili’s Silver medal proved to be GB Judo’s sole medal of the competition, alongside a number of impressive performances from the British squad.
A tenacious showing in the opening round saw him see off Israel’s Tom Bulocinic after good work on the ground from the Brit that resulted in him picking up the win via osaekomi.
He continued his winning streak against Nouri Guenther in the Round of 16, to follow on from his victory over the German in Poznan last year. A single Yuko was the difference between the two fighters after the four minutes.
A controlled display in the Quarter Final against Israel’s Ohad Moritz saw him pick up a waza-ari score just over a minute into the contest and he comfortable saw off the best that Moritz could throw at him to move into final four.
He faced a familiar foe in the Semi Final as he came up against Sweden’s Narek Vardanian – with the two fighters having met three times previously in the pair’s short international careers to date. Goginashvili has got the better of Vardian in all three of those contests, and this weekend was no different as he improved that streak to 4-0 with an emphatic ippon finish with the Swede already struggling after two early shidos.
He couldn’t find a way past France’s Nathan Cadignan in the Final following a late score by Cadignan offered Goginashvili little chance to respond. A Yuko registered with just thirty seconds remaining saw him having to chase Cadignan and as he pushed for a score to level or win the contest, he found himself on the mat as the clock expired. A well deserved silver medal none the less!
Caitlin Barber and Chloe Nunn both narrowly missed out on medals in Spain as they came up short in the Bronze medal contests and had to settle for fifth places respectively.
Barber had a productive morning on the mat in the -52kg competition as she progressed through her opening three fights serenely without a single score against her. She came unstuck against Israel’s Ilay Hayun in the Semi Final as Hayun registered Waza-ari-awasete-ippon against the Brit. An ippon defeat against Spain’s Monica Martinez De Rituerto Morillas after being pinned to the mat ended Barber’s chance of a medal, but saw her register her first placing of 2026.
Nunn was looking to claim a second medal in as many weeks in the +78kg category as she looks to make a late surge into potential Commonwealth Games contention.
She was pushed to her limits in the opening round as it progressed through to Golden Score with the scores level at a Yuko each. One minute in and Nunn spotted an opening as she managed to hook the ankles of of her Polish opponent and force her off her feet to register ippon. She couldn’t find a way past Rochele Nunes (POR) in the Quarter Final before claiming a tight Repechage against Kaina Mayemo (FRA). Germany’s Lilli Wojta ended her medal hopes in the Bronze medal contest, but this weekend will have added vital world ranking points for Nunn for the second consecutive weekend.
Charlotte Jenman (-52kg) and Abigail Guest (+78kg) both placed seventh in their respective categories. Jenman is continuing to make her comeback from an injury layoff has curtailed the second half of 2025 for the young Brit and she picked up some vital time on the mat in the -52kg competition.
Abigail Guest continues to gain experience in senior level competition, and she will have been buoyed by her opening round performance against Spain’s Ana Fuentes de Los Rios. She couldn’t back up that performance though with defeat in the Quarter Final and Repechage respectively.
A young British squad enjoyed a fantastic weekend in Antwerp at the long-established Ippon Trophy competition in Belgium. A team of over 120 made the journey over for the competition with all of the squad doing us proud in a competitive competition.
Congratulations to all of the medallists:
Gold 🥇
Tate Bailey
Chloe Logan
Autumn Enu
Darcy Davies
Bench Varga
Adrian Rama Sanchez
Lili Thomas
Hugh Levett
Alicia Lynas
Louis Seguin
Silver 🥈
James Brae
Pelin Ozturk
Alicia Lynas
Neve Dodds
Summer Lyons Ashworth
Marila Gaidamachenko
Bronze 🥉
Yarden Hadad
Emme Simpson
Tate Leniston
Elise King
Paige Dugmore
Nikita Goldan
Ciprian Cirstea
Jake Barr
Elizabeth Kruglykhina
Isabelle Davies
Alex Egby
Joseph Dewsnip
Kasjan Matyjaszkowicz
Luke Byrne
Daniel Dallas
Korinna Maganaris
Tate Bailey
Asher Price
It wasn’t to be for Karen Roberts and Fiona Chan at the European Kata Championships in Sarajevo.
In just their second international competition as a pairing in Itsusu-no-kata, they were handed a tough draw in a pool of seven pairs – three of whom qualified for the Finals at the World Championships. Although the pair finished bottom of their group, they leave with their heads held high, with an improved score from last year’s World Championships and further experience gained as they look to continue their Kata journey.
