Kaja Schuster Explained

Kaja Schuster
Birth Date:2004 4, df=yes
Birth Place:Ljubljana, Slovenia
Weight Class:70 kg
Club:Judo klub Bežigrad
Coach:Luka Kuralt (club)[1]
Regionals Type:EU
Regionals Rank:R32
Regionals Year:2024
Regionals Weight:Women's 70 kg
Updated:3 August 2024

Kaja Schuster (born 9 April 2004) is a Slovenian judoka.[2] She won the gold medal in the women's 70 kg event at the 2023 European Junior Championships held in The Hague, The Netherlands.

Judo career

Early career

Schuster started judo at the age of six at the Bežigrad Judo Club.[3]

In 2018, she won the gold medal at the U16 National championship in the category -48 kg. Then, a year later, she repeated her success in the category -57 kg. In the same year, she won silver at the National cadet championship. In 2020, she took part in the Senior National championship and won bronze. She repeated the success in 2021.[4] At the 2021 European Cadet Championship in Riga, Latvia, she won 5th place in the -63 kg category. She competed in quite a few Cadet European Cups, and that year she won gold at the Cadet European Cup Teplice.

In 2022, she became National champion in Junior category and National vice-champion in Senior category of -63 kg. She won silver medal at European Cup in Sarajevo.

In 2023, Kaja moved to the -70 kg category. She started the year by winning the Junior European Cup in Lignano. She later won silver medal at European Cup in Riga. In September, she competed at the European Junior Championship in The Hague, The Netherlands, where she won a gold medal in the category -70 kg. A month later, she won a bronze medal at the World Junior Championships in Odivelas, Portugal.[5]

Senior career

In 2024, she won gold medal at European Cup in Dubrovnik.[6] She competed at 2024 European Championships in Zagreb, Croatia and lost against Dutch Hild Jager.[7]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Slovenski judoisti na čelu z Leški optimistično na EP v Zagreb . 30 July 2024 . Thomas Pitrel . 15 April 2024 . Slovenian judokas, led by Leški, are optimistic for the ECh in Zagreb . sl.
  2. News: Šimnovec . Miha . 8 September 2023 . Kaja Schuster mladinska evropska prvakinja, bron za Niko Koren . sl . Kaja Schuster junior European champion, bronze for Nika Koren. 30 July 2024 .
  3. News: Mladi upi: Judoista Kaja Schuster . Young hopes: Judoka Kaja Schuster . sl . 30 July 2024 .
  4. News: Athlete profile: Schuster Kaja . sl . 30 July 2024 .
  5. News: Kaja Schuster do brona na mladinskem SP v judu . sl . 7 October 2023 . 30 July 2024 .
  6. News: JudoInside - Kaja Schuster judoka . 30 July 2024 .
  7. News: Kaja Schuster Profile. International Judo Federation . 30 July 2024 .