British Squad Named for Junior World Championships 2025

Following the conclusion of the Junior European Championships, we are pleased to announce the second and final stage of selections for the British squad set to compete at the Junior World Championships in Lima, Peru, from 5–8 October.

The first stage of selection saw Lola Hodson (Dragons Academy), Chloe Link (Relentless Judo), Nicole Wood (Bishops Stortford), and Ben Levy (Budokwai) earn their places on the team.

Joining them in this final round of selections are reigning European Champion Irakli Goginashvili (Palavani) in the -73kg category, Charlie Ayre (Tees Valley JC) at -60kg, and Eryk Neumann (Hardy Spicer 83) at -81kg.

Irakli Goginashvili is enjoying a standout season, producing consistent performances at every event he has entered in 2025. Just this past weekend, he topped the podium in Bratislava to be crowned Junior European Champion at -73kg — Britain’s first male judoka in 25 years to claim this title.

The victory also marked his third consecutive gold medal on the international circuit. He has already secured titles at the Birmingham, Prague, and Poznan Junior European Cups, while also taking bronze at the Malaga Junior European Cup and the Podgorica Senior European Cup this year.

Goginashvili is in outstanding form on the junior circuit, and we look forward to seeing what he can achieve at the World Championships as the reigning European Champion.

Charlie Ayre has also found excellent form in recent weeks, most recently finishing 5th at the Junior European Championships. This followed his maiden gold medal on the European circuit at his home Junior European Cup in Birmingham.

With growing consistency and a strong set of results in 2025, Ayre is now ready to step up to the highest level and test himself against the best in the world in Lima.

Rounding out the final additions to the squad is Eryk Neumann at -81kg who showed promise at the Junior European Championships, opening his day with a strong first-round victory, though he was unfortunately unable to progress further on that occasion.

The Hardy Spicer 83 judoka has been steadily building his experience throughout the year, highlighted by a bronze medal at the Kaunas Junior European Cup and a 5th-place finish at the Birmingham Junior European Cup.

We are excited to see him take this next step and prove himself on the world stage.

Our GB squad is now finalised:

The post British Squad Named for Junior World Championships 2025 appeared first on British Judo Association.