-52 kg: Leiva Sanchez Controlled Her Way to Gold / IJF.org

Barbara Twarowska of Poland and Ayumi Leiva Sanchez of Spain contested the final, each looking to make the most of an excellent opportunity to take a grand slam gold. Their presence in the final underlined the depth of a category in which new names continued to challenge the established hierarchy.

Final, Barbara Twarowska (POL) vs Ayumi Leiva Sanchez (ESP).

Twarowska was one of the youngest finalists of the day. The 18 year old enjoyed a strong cadet career, becoming a European cadet champion and world cadet bronze medallist in 2025, before continuing her progress in 2026 with victory at the Prague junior European cup.

Gold medallist, Ayumi Leiva Sanchez (ESP).

Leiva Sanchez has established herself as one of the most progressive athletes in the category. The 2024 European under 23 champion enjoyed a breakthrough 2025 season, collecting four grand slam medals before winning the Zagreb Grand Prix.

The final was controlled from start to finish by Leiva Sanchez. Having scored a yuko with an o-uchi-gari using a grip at the end of the sleeve, she managed the remainder of the contest with assurance and even forced her opponent to receive a penalty on her way to a fine gold medal.

Ayumi Leiva Sanchez declared, "After a tough loss in Switzerland, coming to Budapest was definitely the right choice. My coach always reminds me that I need a real hunger to win and bringing that aggressiveness today made all the difference. I'm super proud to earn my first grand slam gold medal and am deeply grateful to my coaches in Valencia for sticking by me. Signing autographs for the children afterwards was really emotional, reminding me of when I was a child looking up to big judoka, so I always want to give my time back to them."

Bronze medal contest, Odette Giuffrida (ITA) vs Naomi Van Krevel (NED).

The first bronze medal contest featured one of the most accomplished judoka of the day, Odette Giuffrida of Italy, against Naomi van Krevel of the Netherlands. Giuffrida arrived in Budapest as the 2024 world champion, an Olympic silver medallist in Rio in 2016 and Olympic bronze medallist in Tokyo in 2021. In the second contest for bronze, Liliia Nugaeva of Russia faced Tereza Bodnarova of the Czech Republic.

Bronze medal contest, Liliia Nugaeva (RUS) vs Tereza Bodnarova (CZE).

Giuffrida gave van Krevel no opportunity to settle, launching her with a superb ashi-guruma for a clear ippon. It’s another place on a major podium for the Italian champion. In the second bronze medal contest, Bodnarova prevailed with an opportunistic counter that scored also scored ippon. Having eliminated Giuffrida earlier in the day, she joined her on the podium.

Medals, cheques and flowers were presented by Mrs Filomena Fortes, IOC Member and President of the National Olympic Committee of Cape Verde, and Mr Ádám Demeny, Communication and Marketing Vice President of the Hungarian Judo Association.

Final (-52 kg)

TWAROWSKA Barbara (POL) vs LEIVA SANCHEZ Ayumi (ESP)

Bronze Medal Fights (-52 kg)

GIUFFRIDA Odette (ITA) vs VAN KREVEL Naomi (NED)

NUGAEVA Liliia (RUS) vs BODNAROVA Tereza (CZE)

Final Results (-52 kg)

1. LEIVA SANCHEZ Ayumi (ESP)

2. TWAROWSKA Barbara (POL)

3. GIUFFRIDA Odette (ITA)

3. BODNAROVA Tereza (CZE)

5. VAN KREVEL Naomi (NED)

5. NUGAEVA Liliia (RUS)

7. PIMENTA Larissa (BRA)

7. PRIMO Gefen (ISR)