The IBJJF Paris Spring Open took place on May 13th and 14th, 2023 and it attracted several of the top European BJJ competitors to compete. Leon Larman reaffirmed his place as one of the top European gi competitors in the middleweight division when put in a solid performance in order to take home a gold medal. Meanwhile one of England’s top BJJ black belts, Bradley Hill, was competing at medium-heavyweight and he too left with a well-deserved gold medal at the event. Naturally there were quite a few British competitors making the trip to compete in Paris, but Hill was the one who found success at the highest level of the event.
Jackson Sousa was the only male competitor in the adult black belt division to take two gold medals from the tournament, although the one he received at heavyweight was given by default. He did have to earn the gold medal from the absolute division though. The women’s divisions were significantly smaller on the first day in the gi, but the absolute division was still pretty busy and Claire-France Thevenon emerged victorious there. There was some great results at brown belt though, where the lightweight division was busier than any black belt weightclass at the event. One of the top prospects in the UK, Abbie O’Toole, won both the lightweight and the absolute division at brown belt.
The no gi section of the IBJJF Paris Spring Open 2023 took place on the second day, and there was considerably less competitors here than on the first day. Zofia Szawernowska still impressed though, as she managed to win gold in the women’s featherweight division. Although many of the divisions at the event went with a limited number of competitors and some were won by default, there was still plenty of action throughout both days of the IBJJF Paris Spring Open 2023.
