• Source: Denis Vieru

Denis Vieru (born 10 March 1996) is a Moldovan judoka who competes in the men's half-lightweight (66 kg) category. He competed in the men's 66 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, without winning a medal, but he won a bronze medal in the same event at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.




Career


He rose to prominence after winning a gold medal at the European U23 Judo Championships in 2016, the first Moldovan to do so since Marcel Trudov in 2005. Vieru won medals at a number of IJF Grand Prix and Grand Slam events in 2019, including Moldova's first Judo Grand Prix gold medal at the Antalya Grand Prix, another gold at the Baku Grand Slam, and defeated 2016 European champion Vazha Margvelashvili to win gold at the Grand Slam Paris. He also defeated Ranto Katsura of Japan to win a gold medal at the 2019 Summer Universiade in Naples, where he was the flag bearer for the Moldovan delegation in the opening ceremony, and later also won a bronze medal at the 2019 World Judo Championships.
Vieru's medal as well as his points from the 2019 summer's competitions were suspended for a while, while the Moldovan was investigated for use of doping. However, Vieru and his advocates were able to prove that there was "neither will to doping, nor negligence" on the athlete's part, which meant that Vieru only received a three month suspension instead of the regular two years, and was able to keep his medal and his world ranking points. The documents about the events have been sealed from the public.
At the 2021 Judo Grand Slam Abu Dhabi held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, he won the gold medal in his event. He won the gold medal in his event at the 2022 Judo Grand Prix Almada held in Almada, Portugal. Vieru became the 2023 European champion and as of May 2024 is also the world's top ranked judoka in his weight class (66 kg).




Awards


Order of Honour (Moldova) (2022)
EJU Fairplay Award (2023)




References






External links


Denis Vieru at the European Judo Union
Denis Vieru at the International Judo Federation
Denis Vieru at JudoInside.com
Denis Vieru at Olympics.com
Denis Vieru at Olympedia
Denis Vieru at The-Sports.org
Denis Vieru on Instagram

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Moldova pada Olimpiade Musim Panas 2024
• Judo pada Olimpiade Musim Panas 2024
• Daftar peraih medali pada Kejuaraan Dunia Judo
• Denis Vieru
• Moldova at the 2024 Summer Olympics
• Denis (given name)
• Judo at the 2024 Summer Olympics
• Judo at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Men's 66 kg
• List of 2024 Summer Olympics medal winners
• Chronological summary of the 2024 Summer Olympics
• List of World Judo Championships medalists
• 2023 World Judo Championships – Men's 66 kg
• List of Olympic medalists in judo