09/06/2026
🥋 2026 Australian National Championships – SouthWest Team Results 🥋
A huge congratulations to our SouthWest Judo Academy athletes who represented Western Australia at the 2026 Australian National Championships on the Gold Coast.
Across three massive days of competition, our team showed courage, resilience, and outstanding team spirit, finishing with 4 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals across Veterans, Cadets, Juniors and Seniors. ❤️🖤
Day 1 saw Arya Zale and Danny Adamov kick things off in the Veterans divisions. Arya delivered a strong performance, claiming silver in Veterans F3 / -70kg before backing it up with gold in Veterans F3 Kyu Grades / -70kg 🥇 after a tough best-of-three series. Danny had an outstanding day, winning gold in Veterans M4 / -81kg and gold in Veterans M4 Kyu Grades / -81kg 🥇, including wins over opponents from Queensland and WA. Danny also joined Cody Robinson in the Nage-no-Kata competition, where they represented the club proudly but finished unplaced.
Day 2 began with our Cadets, with Nate Stevens competing in the Cadet Men / -73kg division. Nate was unfortunately defeated in his opening contest and finished unplaced, but gained valuable experience at national level. Kayla Nae delivered a fantastic result in the Cadet Women / +70kg division, winning both matches in her best-of-three contest against her NSW opponent to secure gold. 🥇
The Junior divisions followed, with Kayla, Scott Fuerste and Olivia Knights taking to the mat. Kayla stepped up again in the Junior Women / +78kg division, while Scott fought strongly in Junior Men / -73kg, progressing through to the repechage before finishing unplaced. Olivia produced a brilliant performance in Junior Women / -57kg, defeating her Queensland opponent by ippon in the quarter-final before later throwing a beautiful counter for ippon in the bronze medal match to claim bronze. 🥉
Later on Day 2, our Senior athletes stepped up in one of the toughest sections of the event. Scott opened his Senior Men / -73kg campaign with a strong yuko win over a Queensland opponent before eventually finishing unplaced after a tough repechage contest. Olivia fought hard in Senior Women / -57kg, defeating a Victorian opponent on penalties to reach the bronze medal match and finishing 5th overall. Cody competed in Senior Men / -66kg and was unfortunately eliminated after a tough opening contest against NSW. Danny fought strongly in Senior Men Kyu Grades / -81kg, picking up wins before finishing 5th, while also placing 7th in the Senior Men / -81kg division.
Jacob Read competed in Senior Men / -60kg, winning his opening quarter-final by ippon before facing Olympian and Commonwealth Games athlete Josh Katz in the semi-final. During the contest, Jacob nearly caught Josh with a foot sweep but unfortunately sustained a broken nose in the exchange, causing a significant medical delay while doctors and medical staff attended to him and cleaned the tatami. Despite the injury, Jacob returned to continue the fight but was ultimately defeated by ippon. He then regrouped for the bronze medal match, where he secured an ippon win over his Victorian opponent to claim bronze. 🥉
Day 3 saw James Taylor, Danny and Cody return to the mat. Cody competed in Senior Male Kyu Grades / -66kg and fought hard across his contests. Danny continued his big weekend in the Senior Male Kyu Grades / -81kg division, winning his quarter-final before narrowly missing the podium and finishing 5th. James, competing in the U15 Boys / U45kg division at his first National Championships, faced the eventual gold medallist from NSW in his opening contest before putting in a strong effort in the bronze medal match, narrowly going down by yuko.
A special mention to Scott Fuerste, James Taylor and Nate Stevens, who all competed at their first ever National Championships. Taking that step onto the national stage is a huge achievement, and we are incredibly proud of the way they represented themselves, the club and WA.
👏 SouthWest Results
🥇 Gold
Daniel Adamov — Veterans M4 / -81kg
Daniel Adamov — Veterans M4 Kyu Grades / -81kg
Arya Zale — Veterans F3 Kyu Grades / -70kg
Kayla Nae — Cadet Women / +70kg
🥈 Silver
Arya Zale — Veterans F3 / -70kg
🥉 Bronze
Jacob Read — Senior Men / -60kg
Olivia Knights — Junior Women / -57kg
💪 Other Placings
Olivia Knights — Senior Women / -57kg — 5th
Daniel Adamov — Senior Male Kyu Grades / -81kg — 5th
Daniel Adamov — Senior Men / -81kg Adaptive — 7th
👏 Unplaced
James Taylor — U15 Boys / U45kg
Nate Stevens — Cadet Men / -73kg
Cody Robinson — Senior Men / -66kg
Cody Robinson — Senior Male Kyu Grades / -66kg
Scott Fuerste — Junior Men / -73kg
Scott Fuerste — Senior Men / -73kg
Kayla Nae — Junior Women / +78kg
A big thank you to Judo Western Australia and the WA State Team coaches for their support, guidance and leadership throughout the campaign. The work that goes into preparing and supporting athletes at an event like Nationals is enormous, and we are grateful for the role they played in helping our athletes represent WA with pride.
Well done to all our athletes, coaches, parents and supporters who were part of the campaign. Nationals is never easy, and every athlete gained valuable experience to bring back to the club.
We are proud of you all. ❤️🖤🥋
