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The new Women's World Champions France after beating the arch rivals Norway in the final in Herning, Denmark (Photo by kolektiff/IHF)
who will retire after Paris 2024. In the semi-final, France outclassed Sweden 37:28, while Nor- way turned a 9:14 halftime deficit against Den- mark to a 29:28 after extra-time thanks to out- standing shooter Henny Reistad, who scored 15 goals and was named World Championship MVP. Denmark had previously secured the bronze medal with the wafer-thin 28:27 against Sweden. Overall, because of this dominance of France and the three Scandinavian host, the World Championship will go down in the history books as a tournament without any major sur- prises - apart from the quarter-final berth of the Czechs, who also had the World Cup top scor- er in Marketa Jerabkova (63 goals). The next Women's World Cup will take place in Germany and the Netherlands in 2025, and defending champions France are directly qualified. Results of the final weekend: Semifinals: Swe- den – France 28:37 (11:19), Denmark – Norway 28:29 after extra time (14:9, 23:23) Game for 7th place: Montenegro – Czech Republic 28:24 (14:10), Game for 5th place: Germany – Neth- erlands 30:26 (16:7), Game for bronze medal: Denmark – Sweden 28:27 (18:15) Final: France – Norway 31:28 (20:17)
In men’s handball, the final decisions on the way to Paris will be taken at the end of Janu- ary at the African championships in Egypt and the European championships in Germany. Al- ready qualified are hosts France, world cham- pions Denmark and the continental winners Japan and Argentina. Six teams have booked their tickets for the Olympic Qualification tour- naments: Sweden, Spain, Germany, Norway, Hungary and Egypt.
Ice hockey
By Anton Waldmann - AIPS Ice Hockey Delegate
The international ice hockey world is shaken On October 28, 2023, before
8,000 spectators at Utilita Arena in Sheffield, England, when Nottingham Panthers played against Sheffield Steelers, Panthers star Adam
Johnson's throat was cut by the skate blade of Steelers player Matt Petgrave during an on- ice collision in the 35th minute of the 2nd period. A video of the incident showed Petgrave's left skate kicked up towards Johnson as he began to fall. After the collision Johnson attempted to skate to the team bench while bleeding out, be- fore collapsing on the ice. He was transferred to Sheffield's Northern
General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy report confirmed that John- son died from the wound to his neck. The spectators were asked to leave the arena. In response to Johnson's death the UK’s Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL) suspended all games for two weeks. Hundreds of fans came to the Arena to lay flowers and make the place a memorial. All North America’s National Hockey League (NHL) teams had moments of silence.
Adam Johnson (June, 22, 1994 - October 28, 2023) was a US-born player, who played 13 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins (2018-2020). He also played for the Malmö Redhawks, Augs- burger Panther and Nottingham Panthers. Under British law, the police initiated an inves- tigation through Becs Horsfall (Detective Chief Superintendent of the South Yorkshire Police). The player Petgrave was arrested by the police on November 14 - 17 days after the incident – and charged with manslaughter. He was re- leased on bail.
The International lce Hockey Federation imme- diately discussed ways to protect the players. On the recommendation of the Medical Com- mittee it was decided that all players partici- pating in an IIHF championship have to wear a neck protector.
The German Ice Hockey Federation also decid- ed that it would be mandatory to wear a neck protector at all league games.
Judo
By Hans van Essen - AIPS Judo Delegate
Judo: The warm-ups for the Olympic Games have started For some of the in-
ternational elite judoka the season came to an end after the Grand Slam in Tokyo in the be- ginning of December. Some of the participants however fought at the Champions League, the European Club Championships in Belgrade and even some of the athletes fighting U57kg and U73kg ended the year at a special occasion at the European Championships for those weight categories in Pristina, the first official major championship in Kosovo. As always the new year starts with a handful of training camps. The
most familiar and most crowded is the one in Mittersill in Austria. A long-lasting and pleasant tradition for 30 years of hard training and cama- raderie in the Austrian Alps. There are enough training partners for each weight category and with over 900 athletes from 55 nations on the mat, in a town of just 5000 people, the judoka really spread their wings at the annual training facility in the Sporthotel Kogler.
Tradition is good in Austria Sporthotel Kogler, originally a tennis hall, is converted for judo with 1500 square metres of yellow and blue mats. Twenty-nine training sessions are offered and in between the sessions a trip to the snow is possible. In this Olympic year no one wants to take a fair risk, but the lovely snow is an exception for the athletes who know how to break their fall (ukemi). For them it’s just pleas- ure whilst the training will be tough and without a drop of snow, but just plenty of sweat. Mittersill is full of top stars and with nine Olympic champions on the mat and four world champi- ons from Doha 2023 the quality and quantity is guaranteed.
Plenty of training camps It’s the start of a busy season, a season full of training camps, as not only the Austrian Alps host the athletes, but there are plenty of opportunities for any level - in the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy in the beginning of January. Another tradition is a combination of the Grand Slam in Paris in Feb- ruary alongside a training week after the event. Some of the athletes combine a training week in Belgium and perhaps participation at the Belgian Open as a hub for Paris. Normally the next occasion would be the Grand Slam of Tel Aviv but under the circumstances safety isn’t a guarantee and that Grand Slam is postponed until further notice. Instead the Grand Slam of Baku takes place in February, while the previous edition was in September.
2024 IJF World Tour The IJF World Tour kicks off though with the Grand Prix of Portu- gal in Almada, just below Lisbon at the end of January where 77 countries have registered so far. If that is the trend for all events, this year will showcase a spectacular road to Paris. To get a good feeling for the Paris vibe, participation for the elite at the biggest Grand Slam is a must. At this Grand Slam, the best athletes of last year will be awarded. Judo fans can choose their favourite athletes, moments and ippons of last year and there are many more awards such as rising star, coaching achievements and IJF projects. It’s clear that Paris is already taking a preview of the Games that will take place in July. Before that the World Championships will take place in Abu Dhabi (UAE) to take the last qual- ification points or last points necessary for a good seeing for the Olympic Games, the judo blockbusters are yet to come. The athletes are just warming up.
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