Rory Tyrrell Secures 7th Place Finish at Warsaw European Open
March 16, 2026
A quiet weekend of international judo saw a small British squad in action at the Warsaw European Open, with one placing secured from the six athletes competing.
The standout result came from Rory Tyrrell (Camberley JC), who delivered a strong performance to finish 7th in the -81kg category.
Beginning his day in the round of 32, Tyrrell faced Dominik Krol (POL) and made an immediate impact, scoring yuko after just 19 seconds. He quickly followed up with another moments later to take control of the contest before adding a waza-ari a further 30 seconds later. De Lange managed to respond with a single yuko, but Tyrrell soon closed out the bout with waza-ari-awasete-ippon to progress to the next round.
In the round of 16, Tyrrell faced a tough challenge against Salvatore D’Arco (ITA). With both athletes receiving two shidos and unable to separate themselves during regular time, the contest moved into golden score. In a closely fought exchange, it was the Italian who picked up the decisive third shido, sending Tyrrell through to the quarter-final.
There he met the eventual silver medallist, Joshua De Lange (NED). Tyrrell pushed the Dutch athlete throughout the contest, but a single waza-ari proved decisive and he was moved into the repechage rounds.
With a place in the bronze medal contest at stake, Tyrrell faced Szilard Radvanszki (ROU). The bout once again went into golden score, where the Romanian secured the win, confirming Tyrrell’s 7th place finish.
It was a strong showing from the Camberley judoka, who narrowly missed out on a medal contest but will take plenty of positives from both the performance and the experience gained.
Elsewhere, the remaining members of the British squad faced difficult opening draws and were eliminated in the first round. Despite the early exits, the experience and mat time will serve them well as they look ahead to upcoming competitions.
