Gay judo champion suffers broken jaw after vicious post-match assault by opponent he defeated
Timo Cavelius, an out gay athlete who made Olympic judo history at Paris 2024, suffered a broken jaw in a shocking assault at a competition. He could miss L.A. 2028 as a result.
Mark
Olympic judoka Timo Cavelius is on the road to recovery after being assaulted by his beaten opponent, Akaki Japaridze, during a match in Leipzig, Germany, earlier this month.
The shocking incident, which left Cavelius hospitalized with a broken jaw and is being investigated by police, could mean that he struggles to qualify for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Outsports is not aware of any suggestion that there may have been a discriminatory element to the assault based on Cavelius being gay.
The 29-year-old, who came out publicly as gay in 2020 having previously been out within his sport, was competing in the national Bundesliga competition for his club, TSV Abensberg, against the host team, Leipzig Judo Club.
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Cavelius is currently ranked 41st in the world in the 178-pound category, having previously achieved a career-high ranking of 14th. He made history at Paris 2024 as the first out gay man to compete in judo at the Olympics.
The man who attacked him is Akaki Japaridze, a 24-year-old Georgian who is ranked inside the world’s top 150 judokas at the 198-pound weight.
What happened to Timo Cavelius in Leipzig?
Leipzig had already secured an overall team victory over TSV Abensberg on Sep. 5 when Cavelius and Japaridze faced each other for the second time within an hour. In their first under 198-pound bout, Japaridze had emerged victorious, but the second bout belonged to the German.
Upon winning, he raised a clenched fist towards his team which was also in the direction of the Georgian. In response, Japaridze suddenly launched his attack, punching Cavelius repeatedly.
“The Georgian completely lost it,” said TSV coach Manuel Scheibel.
@opencaucasusmedia Georgian judoka attacks German competitor after match defeat
The incident occurred as Cavelius was celebrating his victory in a judo match in Germany, reportedly resulting in a broken jaw and two of his teeth being knocked out. ♬ original sound – OC Media
Cavelius, who works for the police in his home state of Bavaria, suffered severe facial injuries. Surgeons at Leipzig University Hospital successfully fitted his jaw with three metal plates.
He now faces a forced recovery period of at least 10 to 12 weeks before he can safely resume fighting. Consequently, he will now miss the World Judo Championships, scheduled for Oct. 4-11 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
In the wake of the assault, video footage of which has been shown in national media, the German Judo Federation issued a statement condemning the violence.
“This setback is particularly bitter for our athlete given his ongoing Olympic qualification campaign and his major goal of qualifying for the 2028 Olympic Games,” part of the statement said.
Cavelius was crowned German champion in 2023 and earned a silver medal that year at a major IJF Grand Slam event in Paris. He followed it up with another silver in Astana the following year, helping to secure his 2024 Olympics spot.
After the incident, the Georgian National Judo Federation said: “Such behavior contradicts the spirit and principles of judo. The executive committee will deliberate on the disciplinary matter shortly and announce its decision publicly.”
However, that announcement has not yet been made, and the controversy deepened last Thursday, when Japaridze posted a statement on his personal Instagram account.
Reaction by Timo Cavelius’s attacker inflames situation
Incredibly, rather than issuing an apology, Japaridze attempted to assign blame to Cavelius for the escalation.
“Any kind of physical aggression is unacceptable in sports,” he wrote. “I am not running away from responsibility for the incident.
“However, I want to state clearly that this incident was not the result of emotion caused by a sports failure. In my career, there has been defeat along with victory. I have accepted defeat with dignity, and failure has never been a reason for me to be aggressive towards my opponent.
“The reason was different — a verbal, as well as an offensive gesture directly from the opponent, which is also completely unacceptable in sports and within the framework of sports ethics. First of all, it is unacceptable for me, as a Georgian and a man. Thank you to everyone who supports me.”
The comments on the Instagram post were limited, with only those in support displayed.
Cavelius rejected any suggestion that he had insulted or humiliated his opponent.
“That celebration was for my own team and was an expression of joy at winning the bout,” he told the German press agency dpa.
“I would like to state explicitly that at no point was it my intention to humiliate Akaki Japaridze as an athlete or to insult him because of his background, his nationality or his identity as a Georgian man. If my celebration nevertheless came across to him as a personal provocation or insult, I regret that he perceived it that way.”
He added: “I am on the road to recovery. Even if my celebration may have triggered negative emotions in Akaki Japaridze, this can neither explain nor justify such a violent outburst. I neither insulted him verbally nor attacked him physically.”
Cavelius first shared his sexuality with certain family members and close friends in 2012 at the age of 16. Three years later, after discussing his open life with a sports psychologist, he came out more widely, including to his teammates, via a post on Facebook.
Then in 2020, at age 23, Cavelius went public with his coming-out story in an interview in Der Spiegel.
A few months ago, he reflected on his journey as a gay athlete in an op-ed for Tagesspiegel. He wrote that he had been nervous about the reaction from others in judo, but that it turned out to be fine. “My team included athletes of very diverse nationalities — Russian and Serbian, for example. Everyone reacted positively.”
The day after Japaridze’s Instagram post went live, the German Judo Federation published a lengthy response directly addressing the Georgian’s comments.
“We are stunned by yesterday’s statement… as well as the support and endorsement this post received, partially from well-respected international judo stars,” said the federation.
“Any downplaying or outright defense of this severe physical assault… is intolerable to us and incompatible with the core principles of our sport.
“What happened on Sept. 5 was not a mere lack of self-control or a brief shove following a heated argument. Timo Cavelius was attacked with massive physical violence without warning.
“Even when the athlete was already on the ground, further heavy blows followed, until the situation was finally brought to an end by the courageous intervention of his teammates.
“We are not talking about an emotional scuffle or an understandable escalation following an alleged provocation. This was a massive assault that carried the risk of severe physical injury.
“Timo is at risk of falling out of the top 36 in the world rankings, which also jeopardizes his participation in the Masters tournament at the end of the year. For all upcoming competitions, this means a lower seeding and consequently much tougher draws in the opening rounds.
“His entire Olympic qualification is thus made massively more difficult — an extremely high athletic price to pay for a victim of blind violence.”
The federation also criticized Japaridze directly. “The fact that [he] publicly justifies this behavior after several days of reflection and time to reconsider shows a dangerous lack of insight. Imagine if those present on-site had reacted with retaliatory violence to the same degree — the sport would sink into chaos.
“Even with a sincere apology, this incident would have been difficult to forgive. However, with this unrepentant statement, Akaki Japaridze has proven that he has not understood the values of judo.
“Anyone who disregards the sanctuary of the tatami in this manner has no place in the fair sporting spirit of judo. We continue to stand firmly on the side of Timo Cavelius and demand consequences under sports law.”
Outsports has reached out to Cavelius and the German Judo Federation for an update on his recovery and to ask for further comment.
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