Shaun Mark Mitty Reclaims Veterans World Title with Gold in Sarajevo
September 23, 2026
Day three of the 2026 Sarajevo World Championships Veterans proved to be Great Britain’s most successful day of the competition so far, as Shaun Mark Mitty (Westcliff JC) was crowned World Champion, while Great Britain also recorded two fifth-place finishes.
Competing in the M6 -90kg category, Mitty was making his fifth Veterans World Championships appearance. He arrived in Sarajevo as a former World Champion, having won gold in 2024, as well as a silver medallist from 2015, looking to return to the top of the podium.
He began his campaign in the Round of 32 against Carl Christiaens (BEL), producing a dominant opening performance. Mitty threw his opponent for waza-ari before securing victory with an osaekomi hold less than halfway through the contest.
In the Round of 16, Mitty faced Robert Endras (GER). A composed display saw the Brit take an early yuko lead before controlling the remainder of the contest to book his place in the quarter-finals.
Awaiting him there was Milan Bogic (SRB), but Mitty needed just 27 seconds to progress, throwing the Serbian for ippon in a statement victory to reach the semi-finals.
A place in the final was at stake against Karl Baker (SWE). Baker took an early yuko lead, but Mitty responded brilliantly, scoring waza-ari before defending his advantage for the remainder of the contest to secure his place in the final block.
With the world title on the line, Mitty faced Darko Music (SLO). Drawing on his previous experience at this stage of the World Championships, the British judoka delivered another outstanding performance. He took the lead with a yuko inside the opening 40 seconds before later throwing Music for ippon to seal his second Veterans World Championships gold medal.
An excellent achievement — congratulations, Shaun!
