The 2026 World Veterans Judo Championships were held in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The championships took place at the Hotel Hills venue over five days, closing on 24 September.

The first three days are complete. The men's M1 and M2 categories competed on 20 September, M3 and M4 on the 21st, with M5 and M6 on the 22nd, M7, M8 and M9 on the 23rd, and the women's categories closing the programme on the 24th.

Georgia dominated the opening day, collecting six gold medals across the M1 and M2 divisions and placing athletes on the podium throughout, with their depth especially evident in the heavier categories. Brazil claimed three titles and Kazakhstan two, while France, Azerbaijan and the Netherlands each took one.

The second day belonged to the M3 and M4 categories. Georgia won M3 at under-60 kg and over-100 kg, with France, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Portugal and Russia also taking titles.

Japan's Raita Takeshita won the M4 under-60 kg title, one of the most notable Asian results of the opening two days. The remaining M4 categories went to judoka from Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Brazil and Russia.

The third day, 22 September, belonged to the M5 and M6 age groups, with fourteen weight categories decided. Georgia's Alexsi Davitashvili won the M5 over-100 kg final for his tenth world veterans title.

Japan took two silver medals. Koji Fukui finished second in M5 under-90 kg and Shinji Nishio second in M6 under-66 kg.

In M5, the titles went to Babak Hajiyev of Azerbaijan at under-60 kg, Arsene Canet of France at under-66 kg, Georgi Georgiev of Bulgaria at under-73 kg, Constantin Cremene of Romania at under-81 kg, Thibault Laroche of France at under-90 kg, Movlud Miraliyev of Azerbaijan at under-100 kg and Davitashvili at over-100 kg. In M6, the winners were Marat Karakanov of Kazakhstan at under-60 kg, Peter Ivarsson of Sweden at under-66 kg, Andrei Bolsheshapov of Russia at under-73 kg, Philippe Oculi of France at under-81 kg, Shaun Mark Mitty of Great Britain at under-90 kg, Aleksei Utenin of Russia at under-100 kg and Jens Peter Bischof of Germany at over-100 kg.

The veterans championships are divided by age group, allowing judoka of different ages to keep competing internationally. Kata events also feature, with some categories decided on the day.

The International Judo Federation says the championships are streamed on JudoTV.

The fourth day, 23 September, closed the men’s programme with the M7, M8 and M9 categories. Japan’s Kashiwada Satoshi took silver in the M7 under-90 kg class.

The women’s categories closed the championships on 24 September, with F1 to F9 decided. Japan’s Yamamoto Natsuko won the F4 under-48 kg title. Judoka from France, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Poland, Sweden, Belgium, Estonia, Romania and Great Britain also took golds on the final day.

The International Judo Federation’s closing report records 1,347 competitors from 65 nations and all five continents. The federation’s event database lists 1,352 judoka for the same 65 nations.

At the end of the championships the federation honoured two judoka who have won ten veteran world titles: Sylvia Hackel (Germany) and Joyce Malley (Great Britain).

The programme continues in Sarajevo: the Special Olympics judo competition holds its shiai on Friday 25 September and its kata disciplines on Saturday, with the World Kata Championships taking place on Saturday and Sunday.

Sources