The growing dominance of Serbia was evidenced in the 2007 Balkan Senior Championship which took place in the Greek city of Volos. The competition was successfully completed on Saturday night, having been organized by the Hellenic Judo Federation in collaboration with the Prefecture of Magnesia and the Volos’s and New Ionian’s Municipalities Athletic Organizations.
More than 130 athletes from eight countries – Albania and Croatia opted not to participate – took part in the organization which was concluded after the completion of 11 spectacular finals. The Balkan Judo tournament drew some of the finest European teams and athletes to compete in the capital of Magnesia. The high level of the participants provided plenty of entertainment, maintaining throughout the interest of the attending crowd.
Many countries came close to winning gold medals, but Serbia earned the majority of them, 4 in women’s and 3 in men’s categories. In that way, the country managed to display its growing dominance in Balkan Judo. Romania followed suit by winning 3 gold medals. Greece, the hostess country, salvaged 1 gold medal, the same as Montenegro and Bulgaria.
Among the gold winners, there was the remarkable spectacle of the Serbian competitor Bojan Ignatijecic winning the Romanian Srda Mrvajevic in the -81 kg category.
The Championship constituted a test event for the city of Volos which is bidding to co-host the Mediterranean Games of 2013 along with the city of Larissa. The Judokas who participated in the Championship reaffirmed their annual meeting date for the next Balkan Championship which is due to take place in Montenegro.