Western Australia celebrates outstanding three-day campaign at the 2026 Australian National Championships

Western Australia’s judoka produced an outstanding campaign across all three days of the 2026 Australian National Championships, held in Carrara from Friday, 5 June to Sunday, 7 June 2026.

From the opening Veterans competition through to the final U13, U15 and Senior Kyu Grade contests, WA athletes featured throughout the medal positions and gained valuable experience against the best judoka from across Australia.

Across the championships, 63 WA athletes made a combined 100 individual competition entries. The state recorded 57 podium finishes—23 gold, 21 silver and 13 bronze—along with a further 17 top-seven results.

WA results across the three days

The results reflected the breadth of judo across Western Australia, with athletes representing SouthWest Judo Academy, UWA Judo Club, Perth Judo Club, Kano Judo Schools, Elite Judo Club, Australian IOJ and Lakay Judo Club.

Day 1: Veterans – Friday, 5 June

Western Australia made a brilliant start to the championships on Friday, with 11 WA Veterans contesting 16 divisions and earning 15 podium finishes. The Day 1 campaign produced eight gold and seven silver medals, with WA athletes reaching the podium in all but one entry.

Daniel Adamov opened the weekend with two national titles, winning both the Veterans M4 under-81kg and Veterans M4 Kyu under-81kg divisions. Arya Zale also contested two categories, claiming silver in Veterans F3 under-70kg before winning the corresponding Kyu Grade division.

Collin Kerr earned silver in Veterans M3 under-90kg and followed it with gold in the M3 Kyu Grade division. Ryan Chu and Luciano Danessa each secured two silver medals across their respective Veterans and Kyu Grade categories.

Further national titles were won by Wai Ting Chan in Veterans F3 under-70kg, Martin O’Dea in Veterans M6 under-73kg, Hugo Polankai in Veterans M3 under-90kg and Jonathan Richetti in Veterans M2 under-100kg. Jhon Ossa added silver in Veterans M2 under-66kg.

Danny Wong completed WA’s Day 1 team in Veterans M4 under-66kg. Although he did not record a final placing, his appearance ensured every WA athlete contributed to a strong opening day for the state.

JudoManager published state affiliations rather than club affiliations for the Veterans competition, so clubs are not shown in the Day 1 table.

Complete WA Day 1 results

Day 2: Cadets, Juniors and Seniors – Saturday, 6 June

The largest day of the championships brought together the Cadet, Junior and Senior divisions on Saturday. WA was represented by 39 athletes across 58 entries, with many judoka competing in more than one age category.

WA collected 25 podium finishes on Day 2, comprising 10 gold, seven silver and eight bronze medals. The team also recorded a series of fifth- and seventh-place results in some of the weekend’s largest and most competitive divisions.

Senior championships

WA celebrated four Senior national champions.

Vas Middleton claimed the Senior Men’s under-66kg title, while Keishin Ochi stood atop the podium in the Senior Men’s under-81kg division. In the women’s competition, Ana Flávia Ajuz Ferreira won the under-57kg title and Maria Swan secured gold at under-78kg.

Kaian Kelly added a Senior Men’s under-60kg silver medal to an exceptional three-division campaign. Saya Middleton earned silver in the Senior Women’s under-63kg division.

WA’s Senior bronze medals were won by Jacob Read in the men’s under-60kg division, Kohsei Toyoshima at men’s under-73kg, Oren Kelly at women’s under-57kg and Tevita Takayawa in the men’s over-100kg division.

A number of other WA athletes progressed deep into their Senior draws. Noa Hogarth, Angus Baird, Hamza Amaidia, Robert Girdwood, Alexander Vasilyev and Olivia Knights finished fifth, while Daniel Adamov and Hugh McCormack recorded seventh-place results.

Junior championships

Vas Middleton completed a Senior–Junior double by also winning the Junior Men’s under-66kg title.

Kaian Kelly took silver in the Junior Men’s under-60kg division, while Oren Kelly earned silver in Junior Women under-57kg. Olivia Knights and Mia Siboni added bronze medals in the Junior Women’s under-57kg and under-52kg divisions respectively.

Noa Hogarth and Chloe Tournier each placed fifth, while Isaac Chinchilla and Zechariah Navea earned seventh-place finishes.

Cadet championships

WA’s developing athletes delivered another strong series of performances in the Cadet divisions.

Kaian Kelly completed his outstanding weekend across the main age categories by winning Cadet Men under-60kg, complementing his Junior and Senior silver medals. Munkh-Erdene Bat-Erdene won Cadet Men over-90kg, Kayla Nae claimed gold in Cadet Women over-70kg and Zechariah Navea won Cadet Men under-55kg.

Joshua Coetzee earned silver in Cadet Men under-50kg. Mia Siboni and Chloe Tournier added silver medals in Cadet Women under-52kg and under-57kg.

Roman Aizikov secured bronze at Cadet Men under-73kg, while Timothy Tan took bronze at under-66kg.

Adaptive championships

Robert Girdwood completed a successful Day 2 campaign by winning the Adaptive Judo Men G-1 division, adding another national title to WA’s tally.

Complete WA Day 2 results

Day 3: U13, U15 and Senior Kyu Grades – Sunday, 7 June

The championships concluded on Sunday with WA’s U13 and U15 athletes taking to the mat alongside the Senior Kyu Grade competitors.

Twenty-six WA athletes contested Day 3, combining for 17 podium finishes: five gold, seven silver and five bronze.

U13 and U15 championships

WA’s younger athletes secured 10 podium finishes across the U13 and U15 divisions.

Leilah Lavea was crowned U15 Girls under-48kg national champion, while Logan Ramsden won gold in the U15 Boys under-55kg division.

Four WA athletes finished with silver medals: Ellysa Kirkby in U15 Girls under-44kg, Yaroslav Badyukov at U15 Boys under-66kg, Tomo Snellin at U15 Boys under-60kg and Lachie Brown at U13 Boys under-49kg.

Carter Brady earned bronze in U15 Boys under-50kg. WA’s U13 bronze medals were won by Patrick Ryan at under-45kg, Judah van der Westhuizen at under-35kg and Cameron Tomuli at under-66kg.

Leonardo Becocci, Ray Pearse and Len Segond von Banchet added fifth-place results, while Jordan Lavea, James Taylor and Hoani Tracey gained valuable national-level competition experience.

Senior Kyu Grade championships

WA earned a further seven podium finishes in the Senior Kyu Grade competition, including three national titles.

Robert Girdwood won the Senior Men’s Kyu under-100kg division after also taking Adaptive gold on Day 2. Hugh McCormack won Senior Men’s Kyu under-90kg, while Nytalia McCracken claimed the Senior Women’s Kyu under-57kg title.

Hamza Amaidia secured silver in Senior Men’s Kyu under-100kg and Stephen Omodunbi earned silver at under-90kg. Chloe Tournier collected silver in Senior Women’s Kyu under-57kg, adding to her Cadet silver and Junior fifth-place results from the previous day.

Wai Ting Chan completed WA’s Kyu Grade medal tally with bronze in Senior Women under-63kg. Collin Kerr placed fourth at Senior Men under-90kg and Daniel Adamov finished fifth at under-81kg.

Complete WA Day 3 results

A championship campaign to celebrate

WA’s 2026 Nationals campaign demonstrated the strength and breadth of the state’s judo community. Athletes progressed from the U13 and U15 categories through Cadet, Junior and Senior competition, while the Kyu Grade, Adaptive and Veterans divisions provided additional opportunities for judoka at different stages of their competitive journeys.

The final tally of 57 podium finishes was an outstanding result, but the weekend was about more than medals. Every WA athlete who stepped onto the mat represented their club and state at the highest domestic level, with each contest providing experience that will contribute to their continued development.

Recognising the team behind the team

The achievements of WA’s athletes were supported by a dedicated state coaching and management team throughout the championships.

Judo WA gratefully acknowledges state coaches Catia Maia, John Commerford, Kota Nagamura, Luc Tournier and Jacob Lekias for the knowledge, leadership and encouragement they provided to athletes across the three days of competition.

Judo WA also thanks management team members Cody Robinson and Jacob Read for their work supporting the athletes and coaches throughout the championship campaign.

The successful delivery of an event of this scale requires an enormous collective effort. Judo WA extends its sincere thanks to Judo Queensland and Judo Australia for organising and delivering the 2026 Australian National Championships, together with all the officials and volunteers whose time and commitment made the event possible.

Finally, Judo WA congratulates all 63 WA athletes who competed across the three days and thanks the families, club coaches and supporters who helped them reach the national stage.

Results were compiled from the official JudoManager competition records. “Unplaced” means that JudoManager did not publish a final placing for that entry.