Denis Vieru (born 10 March 1996) is a Moldovan

judoka is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

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 The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

in Tokyo, Japan.

Career

He first rose to prominence after winning a gold medal at the European U-23 Judo Championships in 2016, the first Moldovan to do so since

Marcel Trudov Marcel Trudov (born 31 August 1984) is a Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, e ...

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 Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

Grand Slam, and defeated 2016 European champion Vazha Margvelashvili to win gold at the

Grand Slam Paris The Paris Grand Slam (formerly International Tournament of Paris) is an international, judo competition held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, as part of the IJF World Tour Grand Slam series organized by the IJF. Venues * Sta ...

. He also defeated Ranto Katsura of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

to win a gold medal at the

2019 Summer Universiade ) , Nations participating = 118 , Athletes participating = 5,971 , Events = 220 , Sports = 18 , Opening ceremony = 3 July , Closing ceremony = 14 July , Officially opened by = President Se ...

in Naples, where he was the flag bearer for the Moldovan delegation in the opening ceremony, and won a bronze medal at the

2019 World Judo Championships The 2019 World Judo Championships were held in Tokyo, Japan from 25 August to 1 September 2019. Schedule ''All times are local (Japan Standard Time, UTC+9).'' Medal summary Medal table Men's events Women's events Mixed events Prize m ...

. 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 The 2021 Judo Grand Slam Abu Dhabi was held at the Jiu-Jitsu Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from 26 to 28 November 2021. Event videos The event will air freely on the IJF YouTube channel. Medal summary Men's events Women's even ...

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 The 2022 Judo Grand Prix Almada was held in Almada, Portugal, from 28 to 30 January 2022. It was the first time that Portugal was the stage for a world tour event. This tournament will be repeated annually until at least 2024. As the qualificat ...

held in Almada, Portugal.

Awards

* EJU Fairplay Award 2023

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vieru, Denis 1996 births European Games competitors for Moldova Judoka at the 2019 European Games Living people Moldovan male judoka Sportspeople from Chișinău FISU World University Games gold medalists for Moldova Universiade medalists in judo Medalists at the 2019 Summer Universiade Judoka at the 2020 Summer Olympics Olympic judoka for Moldova 21st-century Moldovan people