Credit: LPC
The Luxembourg Paralympic Committee (LPC) has reported that Luxembourg para judoka Caecilia Riedl finished fifth in the J2 -52 kg category at the IBSA Judo Grand Prix Astana 2026, held in Kazakhstan on Tuesday 12 May 2026.
According to LPC, the competition represented Caecilia Riedl’s first participation at this level on the international IBSA para judo circuit. In para judo, the J2 category is for athletes with a visual impairment. As the youngest athlete in the LPC squad, she competed in a category featuring five athletes ranked among the world top eight.
In the quarter-final, Caecilia Riedl defeated Taiwan’s Hsin-Ying Tsai, currently ranked seventh in the world. She was then defeated in the semi-final by Russian athlete Alesia Stepaniuk, the current world number one.
In the contest for the bronze medal, the Luxembourg athlete faced Switzerland’s Carmen Brussig, currently ranked eighth in the world and fifth at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games. Caecilia Riedl ultimately finished the competition in fifth place.
“Of course I wanted more, but I am taking a lot of valuable experience from this tournament. Competing against such strong opponents at this level motivates me even more for the next competitions,” said Caecilia Riedl after the event.
The Luxembourg delegation was accompanied by national para judo coach Jérôme Guenzi. Roberto Lomba, who had also initially been scheduled to compete, was unable to participate for health reasons.
LPC added that the result reflects the continued development of para judo in Luxembourg, as well as strengthened cooperation between the Luxembourg Paralympic Committee and the Luxembourg Judo Federation (FLJUDO).
