Metka Lobnik was named Female Judoka of the Year for the first time in her career. The 24-year-old from Orehova vas concluded an outstanding 2025 season ranked seventh in the world, despite an injury that hampered her at the end of the year. The member of Judo Club Apolon Maribor won the national senior title, claimed victory at the Tbilisi Grand Slam and the Lima Grand Prix, and secured bronze medals at the Grand Prix events in Linz and Guadalajara. She finished seventh at the European Championships in Podgorica and fifth at the World Championships in Budapest.

“Of course, the Female Judoka of the Year title means a lot to me. It’s a beautiful way to round off such a successful season as the one I had last year, and I’m already looking forward to the next one,” Lobnik said after receiving the award. However, she did not want to single out any particular highlights from the past season: “Every result brought its own special moment. I feel that the successes just kept building throughout the season. Of course, there were also a few tougher periods without the results I wanted – for example last year in Ljubljana – as well as the disappointment of narrowly missing a medal at both the World and European Championships. But looking back now, it was truly a very good season.”

An excellent year was slightly overshadowed by injury, from which the young Slovenian judoka is now gradually returning to competition. “The recovery is progressing step by step. I don’t want to rush anything to avoid making things worse. Rehabilitation is going according to plan; I’m already back in my judogi and doing randori, gradually rebuilding my competitive form. I hope to compete again as soon as possible, and the tentative plan is to return in Linz,” she explained.

At the Ljubljana European Open 2026, she will take on a slightly different role. “Unfortunately, I’m not yet ready to compete in Ljubljana, as I want to be able to show my very best judo. But I will be there, cheering for my club teammates and all the Slovenian representatives.”

In the voting for Female Judoka of the Year, Lobnik was followed by experienced Olympian and Judo Club Bežigrad member Kaja Kajzer, who successfully moved up to a higher weight category last year and won the Grand Prix in Linz, as well as one of the most promising representatives of the younger generation, Nika Tomc of Judo Club Z’dežele Sankaku. Tomc won silver in Linz and added a bronze medal at the Zagreb Grand Prix, increasingly establishing herself among the senior elite.

Like Lobnik, Nace Herkovič was also named Male Judoka of the Year for the first time. The 23-year-old member of Judo Club Slovenj Gradec won the European Open in Sarajevo in 2025 and earned a bronze medal at the European Senior Cup in Dubrovnik. Already this weekend, he will compete on home soil at the Ljubljana European Open 2025 in Stožice.

“I’m very happy. This is confirmation of last year’s hard work and additional motivation for the new season to improve my results even further and hopefully be back here again next year,” Herkovič said after the ceremony, reflecting on the past season: “I achieved some very good results that I’m proud of. But there were also moments when things were really tough. I believe I gained the most דווקא from those periods. I learned a lot and matured both as a judoka and as a person, and that will definitely benefit me in the future.”

The athlete from Koroška also highlighted both the best and the most difficult moments of his season: “Of course, I’m most proud of winning the World Cup in Sarajevo. It was my first medal at World Cup events — and it was gold — which makes it even more special. On the other hand, the World Championships in Budapest were very demanding for me. I was the only male representative of the Slovenian national team, and that defeat hit me hard. But I quickly got back on my feet, returned to training with even bigger goals, and that experience taught me a lot.”

Unlike Lobnik, Herkovič will already be competing this weekend in front of the home crowd in Stožice: “I feel quite relaxed and I’m really looking forward to the competition. Competing in front of a home crowd, in a home arena, with that kind of atmosphere, is always something special. I’m ready and excited for the fights. The competition will be strong and intense, with a large number of athletes, so we’ll see how it unfolds — but I’ll be fully prepared.”

In the selection for Male Judoka of the Year, Herkovič was followed by experienced Judo Club Impol member David Štarkel, who placed seventh at the Paris Grand Slam a few days ago, and long-time national team member and Judo Club Bežigrad representative Martin Hojak, who returned to the Grand Prix podium last October after a two-year break.

In the club rankings, Bežigrad topped the women’s standings ahead of Apolon and Sankaku. Bežigrad also dominated the men’s competition, followed by Impol and Slovenj Gradec. The overall cup title likewise went to Bežigrad, ahead of Impol and Sankaku.