Minjong Kim’s Breakthrough in Ulaanbaatar Shakes Up the +100 kg Field

Minjong Kim was the standout name in the +100 kg division in Ulaanbaatar, where the heavyweight category delivered exactly the kind of high-level judo fans expect. In a draw filled with pressure, long battles and big reputations, the Korean came through to take the first Grand Slam gold medal of his career.

Heavyweights often bring drama, and this event had plenty of it. The category opened with reigning world champion Inal Tasoev arriving as top seed, but the path quickly showed how unforgiving judo can be, even for the biggest names on the draw sheet.

Tasoev first got past Giannis Antoniou, who made him work hard from the start. His next contest against Valerii Endovitskii was even tougher and stretched deep into golden score. Tasoev eventually found a yuko after a five-second hold down, but the effort clearly took something out of him.

That mattered in the semi-final, where Minjong Kim produced one of the defining moments of the day. Tasoev attacked early with Uchi-mata, and Kim answered with a sharp counter that at first looked like Ippon. After review, the score was reduced to Waza-ari, but the message was already clear: Kim was ready for the moment.

From there, Kim stayed composed. He shut down Tasoev’s attacks, managed the rhythm of the contest and kept applying pressure. By the end, the Russian world champion looked drained, while Kim looked fully in control of his plan.

One counter in the semi-final changed the entire direction of the category.

In the other half of the draw, Irakli Demetrashvili and Jur Spijkers emerged as the key names. Demetrashvili got the better of the Dutch judoka in their semi-final to book his place in the gold medal match, while Spijkers moved on to fight for bronze.

The final between Kim and Demetrashvili stayed tense. Kim struck first with a yuko, but the Georgian pulled level as the contest moved toward the last minute. Even so, Demetrashvili was carrying a problem that became impossible to escape: he had already received two Shido.

That pressure never disappeared. A third penalty decided the final and handed Kim the title. It was not a wild finish, but it was a meaningful one, built on discipline, tactical control and the ability to stay calm under stress.

Kim’s victory felt like more than a single result. It was the kind of performance that marks an athlete as a serious force in the category, especially because it came through a win over the reigning world champion and a composed final against another dangerous heavyweight.

There was also a strong European presence on the podium and around it. Jur Spijkers of the Netherlands claimed bronze after a golden score battle with Kanan Nasibov, scoring yuko from a hold down after a mistake near the edge of the contest area. It was the ninth Grand Slam medal of Spijkers’ career.

Lukáš Krpálek of the Czech Republic, one of the most respected heavyweights in the sport, faced Tasoev in the second bronze medal contest. Tasoev took the medal, but the match carried the atmosphere of a major final and underlined the level of the division in Ulaanbaatar.

For Kim, though, this day belonged to him. His first Grand Slam gold in the heaviest category did not come easily, and that is exactly why it will be remembered.

Source: IJF.org

Image source: IJF / International Judo Federation