Sampaio is the reigning female European champion in the -78 category
Fresh off her European title win, Portuguese judoka Patrícia Sampaio is setting her sights even higher: the World Championships in Budapest, kicking off this Friday.
The 25-year-old, competing in the -78kg category, is heading to Hungary as the top seed and a serious contender for gold — a goal she’s not shy about declaring.
“I try to go without expectations, but obviously I have very clear goals for this year, which are to be European champion and world champion. So, trying to go without expectations, that is the goal I want to achieve at the end of the day and for which I know I have been working,” the judoka told Lusa news agency.
Sampaio has become the leading figure in Portuguese judo, following a string of top-tier performances. After winning Olympic bronze in Paris 2024, she repeated gold at the Grand Slam in Paris, took bronzes in Tbilisi and Tokyo, and dominated the European Championships in Podgorica in April.
Following these performances, she arrives in Budapest ranked above even Olympic champion Alice Bellandi of Italy, whom she has faced eight times and lost to eight times. But Sampaio isn’t losing sleep over the numbers.
“I’m not afraid of anyone. After all, someone who wants to be a world champion is fully aware that they have to beat anyone they face,” she said.
“Even at the Olympic Games, where I had suffered several defeats against her, despite losing, I went into the fight as if we were 0-0, as if we had never faced each other, and I believe that if we meet here, it will be the same thing. I still don’t know the secret to beating her, because I haven’t beaten her yet. Still, it could be this time. If we meet, a lot can happen, we’ll be on opposite sides: I’m number one, she’s number three and from what I’ve seen so far, if everything goes well, we’ll only meet in the final,” the Portuguese athlete said.
Her aggressive, forward-fighting style has become her trademark, especially after four ippon wins at the European Championships – three of them by throws.
“My fighting style has always been to attack a lot, but as I improve, these attacks become more assertive, at the right moment, stronger.
“I have refined my strategy significantly, so I no longer attack unnecessarily. When I attack, it is more likely to be to my advantage, and I think I have also improved, for example, my gripping technique, so when I get a favourable grip that I like, I am more likely to make a good attack or immediately gain an advantage. But I think that also comes from my fighting style, which has always been to attack a lot. It has never been a very defensive style; it has always been more attacking,” she explained.
Sampaio prefers to keep the fight standing, avoiding prolonged ground grappling unless necessary, though she acknowledges that versatility matters at the elite level.
The World Championship will also mark the return of Portuguese athletes under their national flag, after a suspension of the Portuguese Judo Federation was lifted. The federation had been banned due to an €800,000 debt, creating uncertainty for the team just weeks before the event.
Sampaio will be joined in Budapest by six other Portuguese judokas: Catarina Costa (-48 kg), Taís Pina (-70 kg), Miguel Gago (-66 kg), Otari Kvantidze (-73 kg), João Fernando (-81 kg), and Jorge Fonseca (-100 kg).
