World Judo Championships 2024 Abu Dhabi: Preview, schedule and how to watch live
It's the last major international judo event before the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The last chance to secure valuable points for Olympic quotas. And, if the stakes weren’t high enough already - it’s the world championships.
The World Judo Championships 2024 will take place this year from 19-24 May at the Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi, with the mixed team event on the final day of competition.
With eight out of the 14 world number one judoka attending the 2024 World Judo Championships, judo's elite is sure to turn up the heat in the Abu Dhabi desert.
And they're all on the hunt for the same thing: the coveted world championship title.
Find out who is competing, top stories to follow and the full schedule below.
Top stories to look out for at the World Judo Championships 2024
Queen of -63kg: Clarisse Agbegnenou
Olympic gold medallist and six-time world champion Clarisse Agbegnenou is the undisputed queen of the -63kg category. Having won her sixth world title in 2023 less than one year after giving birth, the French powerhouse has set her sights on an historic seventh gold before competing to defend her Tokyo 2020 Olympic title at home in Paris.
Battle for Olympic quotas: -57kg and -78kg
With only one athlete per nation per category able to compete in judo at the Olympic Games, these world championships are the last chance for many judoka to prove themselves worthy of representing their country.
At -57kgs, all eyes will surely be on two names: world number one Christa Deguchi and world number two Jessica Klimkait. The two Olympic hopefuls have been neck-and-neck for years, but the final decision of who will secure the Olympic quota will come down to their performances at this year’s world championships. In 2021, it was Klimkait who came out on top. Could it go the other way this year?
A similar story is happening in the -78kg category, where 2021 world champion and Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Anna-Maria Wagner will battle it out with her compatriot and two-time European champion Alina Boehm for the German -78kg spot.
*As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024.
-48kg and -52kg: two new world champions will be crowned
With the current world champions in the -48kg and -52kg categories not attending the 2024 world championships, one thing is for sure: we will have two new world champions.
Japan's dominance in the -48kg weight class faces a tough challenge from Italy's world number one, Assunta Scutto, who is hungry to upgrade her junior world title to a senior title. Can Koga Wakana maintain Japan's streak? Or will Scutto snatch the crown?
Kosovo’s Olympic champion at -48kgs Distria Krasniqi has moved up to -52kgs and is looking to secure the only title missing from her collection. With the seemingly unbeatable world and Olympic champion Abe Uta absent, this just might be her chance. But standing in her path is Olympic silver medallist Amandine Buchard of France, who holds four-to-one wins against her, including the 2023 World Masters and European Championship golds, where she defeated Krasniqi in both finals.
Francisco Garrigos and Nils Stump on a mission to defend their world titles
At -60kgs, Spain’s lightweight world and European champion Francisco Garrigos will be looking to defend his red backpatch before the Olympic Games. But Japan has sent its selection for the Paris 2024, Nagayama Ryuju, who Garrigos has never been able to beat in the six times they have met in competition.
Also looking to defend his title? Switzerland’s first-ever world champion Nils Stump, who will have to go up against world number one and four-time world medallist Hidayat Heydarov of Azerbaijan in the -73kg category.
2012 Olympic champion Lasha Shavdatuashvili will also be vying for a medal in that category.
Japan has dominated the mixed team event at every turn, except one...
Team Japan has won every edition of the world championships mixed team event since its introduction in 2017.
However, Team France dealt a crushing blow to the Japanese on their turf during the Olympic debut of the mixed team event at Tokyo 2020. Team Japan will surely be on the hunt for revenge this summer, hoping to defeat their French rivals on their home soil.
Yet, amidst the intense rivalry, Japan still holds a clean streak of mixed team world championship titles. Despite France's near miss in 2023, settling for silver, the Japanese remain undefeated.
And you should keep an eye on Georgia too, who took bronze last year and silver at this year’s European championships. With a young and growing women’s team to complement their powerful men’s field, Georgia could provide an upset to the usual mixed team medal contenders.
World Judo Championships 2024 Abu Dhabi: Full Schedule
- Sunday 19 May - w: -48 kg, -52 kg; m: -60 kg
- 11:00 Preliminaries
- 18:00 Final block
- Monday 20 May - w: -57 kg; m: -66 kg, -73 kg
- 10:30 Preliminaries
- 18:00 Final block
- Tuesday 21 May - w: -63 kg; m: -81 kg
- 12:00 Preliminaries
- 18:00 Final block
- Wednesday 22 May - w: -70 kg, -78 kg; m: -90 kg
- 11:00 Preliminaries
- 18:00 Final block
- Thursday 23 May - w: +78 kg; m: -100 kg, +100 kg
- 12:00 Preliminaries
- 18:00 Final block
- Friday 24 May - mixed teams
- 12:00 Preliminaries
- 18:00 Final block
How to watch the 2024 World Judo Championships
You can follow all of the contests live on judotv.com