Finnish judoka Valtteri Olin, 25, competed in the bronze medal match of the European Championships in Croatia on Friday, but lost to his French opponent.
Competing in the under 73-kilogram category Valtteri Olin was close to a jymy surprise at the European judo competitions held in Zagreb, Croatia.
However, the player from Kerava, who defeated tough opponents on Friday, had to bow out in the full-time medal fight, narrowly losing to the Frenchman To Joan-Benjamin Gaba.
Olin started his EC career by beating the Turk Umalt Demirelinto whom he lost less than a month ago in the Antalya Grand Slam.
In the second round, a Russian competing with a neutral athlete ID fell Mahmadbek Mahmadbekov. In the pool final, Olin narrowly lost with a wazar to the Moldovan For Adil Osmanov.
The career of the Finnish judoka continued in the collections, where he defeated a Belarusian competing under the symbol of a neutral athlete Ruslan Halavatshou.
The 25-year-old Olin is currently 34th on the Olympic list and is still within striking distance of the Paris Olympics.
Remember the Finns Turpal Djoukaev also performed strongly in the under-73 kg category after winning his first two bouts, but then lost to three-time Olympic medalist Georgia to Lasha Shavdatuashviliand did not make it to the collections.
Oskari Mäkinen beat the German Tokyo Olympic medalist in his opening match by Dominic Ressel at ippon, but had to bow out in the second round of the under-81-kilogram category to the one who cleared the way to the EC final To Frank de Wit.
In last year’s European Judo Championships Martti Puumalainenwho is not competing in Croatia this year, won a historic European Championship gold and a medal, ending Finland’s 30-year medal-free streak in adults.