Martial Arts: Monaco’s success in judo

At the Games of the Small States of Europe, held in San Marin, Judokas from the Principality did beautifully. All the Monegasque competitors did well in the individual and team encounters and became the first medal winners from the Monegasque delegation.

At the end of the individual competitions, Yann Siccardi and Cédric Bessi, two Monegasque internationals, won gold; junior Benjamin Scariot and Johan Blanc finished second while female Sara Allag won third place. As for Franck Vatan and Nicolas Grinda, it was not long before they also made it to the podium. In teams, Yann Siccardi, Benjamin Scariot, Jean-Christophe Bracco, Johan Blan, Nicolas Grinda and Franck Vatan won bronze medals.

Bronze in Portugal

These excellent results are the fruit of hard work carried out by the Monegasque judo federation, which is dear to President Eric Bessi, since three of the medalists are Monegasque nationals and half of the eight fighters involved are from the Judo School of Monaco.

Every day, coaches like Marcel Piétri, national technical director and François Bick, who are assisted by volunteers, work to ensure that all athletes achieve a high level of quality.

The judo club of the Principality is chaired by Jean-Pierre Siccardi, whose goal is to discover talents and bring them to their highest level. Mission accomplished since recently, two cadets licensed to the federation, both shone at the European Cup in Coimbra, Portugal. Tizie Gnamien, on the French team and Marvin Gadeau on the Ivory Coast team, each won a bronze medal in their respective categories. Two future champions who will have bright futures in subsequent competitions, a testament to the quality of Judo classesin Monaco.