Western Australian judoka Mia Siboni, Zechariah Navea and Chloe Tournier represented Australia at the Maribor Millennium Team Cadet European Cup in Slovenia on 24–25 October 2026, with Siboni leading the WA results with a seventh-place finish.
The event attracted 433 athletes from 26 countries across four continents, providing a demanding test for the three developing athletes against a predominantly European field.
Competing in the 26-athlete Cadet Women’s under-52kg division, Siboni recorded two victories across four contests to secure her place in the top eight.
She opened her campaign in the round of 16 against Slovakia’s Elena Kucerova, scoring a waza-ari before securing victory by ippon after 3:11. The win advanced her to a quarterfinal against Slovenia’s Nusa Samec, who scored two waza-ari to take the contest after 1:55. Samec went on to win the gold medal.
Moving into the repechage, Siboni responded with an ippon victory over Italy’s Ilaria Lacicerchia after 1:57, keeping her hopes of a bronze medal alive. Her fourth contest brought another Italian opponent, Emma Dobrovolschi, who secured victory by ippon after 2:23. Dobrovolschi subsequently claimed bronze, while Siboni finished seventh.
Navea contested the Cadet Men’s under-55kg division, which featured 30 athletes, and recorded one win from three contests.
His opening bout in the round of 16 was against Israel’s Sagi Korish. The contest went the full four minutes, with Korish recording a waza-ari and two yuko to take the victory.
Navea returned through the repechage and produced a decisive response against Slovenia’s Pavle Ilic, winning by ippon in just 42 seconds. He then faced Germany’s Aaron Joshua Keller, who scored ippon after ten seconds to end Navea’s campaign. Navea finished unplaced, having added another international victory to his competition experience.
Tournier competed in the 25-athlete Cadet Women’s under-63kg category, meeting Slovenia’s Neja Jenus in the round of 32. The home-nation athlete scored two waza-ari to win after 2:44. Tournier did not progress to the repechage and finished unplaced.
The weekend continued the trio’s international development following their appearances at the Hong Kong and Macau Asian Cups earlier in the year. Competing against unfamiliar opponents on the European circuit provides valuable experience to bring back into training, while highlighting the technical and tactical demands of international cadet judo.
Judo WA congratulates Mia, Zechariah and Chloe on representing Australia in Maribor and acknowledges the coaches, clubs, training partners and families whose ongoing support makes these opportunities possible.
