Just days before the opening of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, it seems that not everything is ready for the start of some competitions. Marius Vizer, president of the International Judo Federation (IJF), commented that the Champ-de-Mars Arena was not yet ready to receive the start of this sport, scheduled for Friday the 27th with the women’s -48 kilos category and the -60 kilos category in men.

“I come to Paris with great enthusiasm, we are prepared from a sporting point of view, but unfortunately the place is not prepared and we are suffering,” Vizer said in an interview with the AFP agency. “The entire IJF team is on site working with the local team to complete the site, but it should have been ready much sooner,” added the leader, although he did not delve into the details of what would be missing from the site. But that, as he said, “many things are missing in the installation.”

In front of the Eiffel Tower is the Champs-de-Mars Arena, which will first host judo until August 3, and then be the home of Olympic wrestling between the 5th and 9th of the same month. The decision never fully satisfied the IJF, which preferred to occupy Bercy, the traditional place for world judo and its Grand Slams. “It is the temple of judo. We know every corner of Bercy, I don’t understand why judo couldn’t stay there,” said President Vizer.

And despite the IJF’s concern regarding the optimal condition of the venue for judo, there is hope that everything will be in order by the start day. “France is a judo country, one of the best organized nations in judo, with more than a million members, practitioners and followers, and one of the highlights of the Games will be the judo competition, so I hope that everything be resolved,” argued the top leader of the IJF.

THE ABSENCE OF RUSSIAN JUDOCAS

In the interview, President Marius Vizer was also asked about the absence of Russian judokas in the Olympic Games. There was a total of 17 athletes classified for the competition, but only four were authorized by the IOC to participate, so the Russian Federation decided to boycott. “As President of the IJF, I regret that we did not have full participation. When a qualified country is missing, it is always a loss for the Olympic Games. But we can do nothing but respect or at least accept the IOC’s decision,” Vizer lamented.

“We are a sport that has not punished Russian athletes, because punishing innocent people for the wrong or controversial decisions of their leader is not fair,” commented the President of the IJF, while stating that Russia is precisely a country of judo.