After the silvers in Sofia-2022 and Montpellier-2023, the Académica de Coimbra Olympian marks her return to the competition after a five-month absence due to surgery with her 42nd podium in Portugal Zagreb-2024
Catarina Costa (8th in the ranking), aged 27, won, this Thursday, her third medal in a European judo championship by defeating Serbian Milica Nikolic (6th) in the -48 kg bronze fight in the Zagreb-2024 edition. Continental runner-up in Sofia-2022 and Montpellier-2023, the judoka from Académica de Coimbra thus secured Portugal’s 42nd podium in the event.
The European Championships in Zagreb begin this Thursday and Portugal already has six of its 15 judokas in action. After six months and one surgical intervention later, Telma Monteiro returns to competition. “It couldn’t be on a more beautiful day,” he says
In a fight against an opponent she knows well, it was the seventh time they had faced each other and there was 3-3 in the clashes, Catarina managed to resist Nikolic’s strong holds, trying to take advantage of her greater height compared to the Portuguese woman’s 1.54m, to , with 40s left, and when both had a punishment, project to wazari Milica, 29 years old, who in the Tel Aviv-2018 edition had achieved her only medal (bronze) in the event.
Runner-up in the last two Europeans, Catarina Costa is back in Zagreb and will fight on Thursday. Ankle injury and elbow surgery kept her away from the World Tour for five months
The first time the two faced each other was in 2018, at the Cancun Grand Prix with victory for Nikolic. The last one in 2022, in the quarter-finals of the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam, but there the result was in favor of the medical finalist, all she is missing is her master’s thesis, which with this result added another 350 points to the world ranking and reinforces with another result being her position in the Olympic qualification for Paris-2024, where she is 7th.
Remember that Costa was already at the Tokyo 2020 Games, having been one victory (5th) away from the bronze medal.
Judoka from Académica de Coimbra, who comes from a five-month break and was twice runner-up, will try to reach her third medal in three consecutive championships
In the first confrontation with the Serbian Andrea Stojadinov (24th) had to fight for 6.19m before managing to impose the third punishment. This was followed by the quarter-finals against the Israeli Tamar Malca (30th) and once again forced to compete for the extra 1.34m golden point, where she was ruled out of the title race after being penalized with a third shido.
Catarina Costa (-48 kg, 8th in the ranking)
PATH TO BRONZE
Exempt from the 1st round
Andrea Stojadinov (Srv, 24th), victory by ippon 6.19m
Tamar Malca (Isr, 30th), defeat by ippon 5.34m
Ellen Salens (Bel, 48th), victory by wazari 7.10m
Milica Nikoliv (Srv, 6th), wazari 4.00m victory
Podium
-48 kg: 1st, Kristina Dudina (Rus); 2nd, Blandine Pont (Fra); 3rd, Catarina Costa (Por) and Tamar Malca (Isr).
In the fight with the Belgian Ellen Salens (48th), to decide who would be present in the bronze medal match, another 7.10m of combat. But this time with Catarina resolving things in her favor with wazari to have the right to fight against Milica.
The only thing that Catarina Monteiro hasn’t accomplished this time is winning gold, just like her coach João Neto (-81 kg) in Lisbon-2008. However, it increased the difference in medals compared to the teacher.
