Local heroes and world stars take to the judo mat in Essen

ESSEN - There will be some serious judo pedigree on show when the student-athletes take to the mat in Essen at the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games.

The USA’s Rufus Ferguson II will compete in the men’s +100kg, perhaps hoping to follow in the footsteps of his father Rhadi Ferguson, who fought in the half-heavyweight (90-100kg) category at the Athens 2004 Olympic Games.

The person Ferguson junior really wants to emulate, though, is his namesake grandfather Rufus I, who was drafted to the NFL by the Atlanta Falcons in 1973 as a running back.

“Football is the main focus,” Ferguson told the Howard University news platform, The Dig. “Judo has pushed my cardio and made me better prepared for the demands of football. And judo is how I’ll show the world – and NFL scouts – my athletic portfolio.”

Strong German team

Anna Monta Olek (GER) also has judo in her genes: her father Detlef Knorrek competed at the Barcelona 1992 and Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games.

“My dad was obviously a really good judo fighter and I just grew into it,” Olek said. “I don’t think I ever had a different type of plan, a different feeling for anything, so you could say it was always in my nature.”

The only competition of hers Knorrek has missed was the world championships in Budapest in June, when Olek pushed Olympic champion Alice Bellandi (ITA) all the way in the -78kg final to claim the silver medal.

Olek will be hoping to go one better in Essen, and has already pictured the accompanying headline: ‘Home game triumph: Anna Monta Olek wins gold for Germany at the FISU Games’.

Particularly keen to do well in Essen are 20-year-olds Helen Habib (GER) and Nicolas Kutscher (GER), who come from the JC 66 Bottrop club just north of the city. Both are national champions and claimed German university titles in nearby Duisburg in December.

“Participating means a lot to me as I grew up here in the region,” Habib told the German Judo Federation website. “That’s why it’s especially nice that my family and friends can also support me up close.”

Olympic pedigree

Also competing will be two current Olympic medallists. The 2024 world champion, Mimi Huh (KOR), claimed silver in the women’s -57kg category at Paris 2024, where Adil Osmanov (MDA) claimed bronze in the men’s -73kg division.

The 25-year-old carried Moldova’s flag at the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 Opening Ceremony. “It is a responsibility that motivates me doubly to give 110 percent and bring home the gold medal,” he said.

The judo competition takes place in Messe Essen Halle 4 from 23 to 26 July. There are 15 medal events, seven each for men and women plus mixed team.

FGNS lm/pp/mb