The 2026 European Judo Veterans Championships will reach a new milestone this week as more than 1370 from 36 countries gather in Portimão, Portugal, for the largest edition in the event’s history.
From 22-25 October, the Portimão Arena will host competitors aged 30 and above for four days of competition, bringing together athletes from diverse backgrounds.
With participation reaching unprecedented numbers, this year’s championships show just how much veterans’ judo is growing across the continent.
France leads the entry list for the 2026 European Judo Veterans Championships with an impressive 620 athletes, accounting for approximately 46% of the registered field, followed by Spain (98), Italy (77), Germany (74) and Georgia (67).
The scale of the 2026 event feels particularly striking when looking back at the competition’s origins. Hungary played a pioneering role in developing European veterans’ judo, hosting the first European Championships in Kecskemét in 2003, when 337 athletes from 26 countries competed. The European Judo Union has since organised the championships regularly since 2009, with only the COVID-19 pandemic interrupting the calendar in 2020 and 2021.
More than two decades after that first gathering in Hungary, the field has grown to over four times its original size.
