Cypriot judoka Janet Michaelidou secured the Gold medal, the first in her career, at the European Junior Cup (U21) in Italy, in the 78kg category.
The nineteen year old athlete won the bronze in the same category in the 2022 Cup.
A press release by the Cyprus Judo Federation says that the European Junior Cups are a series of annual competitions featuring the top judokas under the age of 21. With the 100 points she will receive from the first place in the event she is expected to climb to No4 in the world rankings.
Janet is currently in No. 33 in the Olympic ranking for Paris 2024, just a few places away from Olympic qualification.
Janet said she was really happy for her victory and thanked her coach and her academy as well as her fellow athletes, the Judo federation and her family for their support.
Since January 2023 Janet has been living and training in Turin, Italy where she is studying law.
Source: Cyprus News Agency