Varlam Liparteliani

Varlam Liparteliani has been one of Georgia’s most consistent and respected judoka of the modern era. Competing primarily in the U90kg division, he built a career defined by resilience, longevity and repeated appearances on the biggest stages.

His finest Olympic moment came at the Rio 2016 Games, where he fought his way to the final and secured the silver medal. It was the culmination of years of near misses and podium finishes at world level. Liparteliani had already established himself as a major contender with world silver medals in 2013, 2017 and 2018, adding bronze medals in 2014, 2015 and 2021. Few athletes have shown such sustained excellence across so many World Championships.

In Europe he was even more dominant. Liparteliani became European Champion three times, in 2012, 2014 and 2016, and reached an astonishing nine European Championship finals. He also contributed to Georgia’s success in both World and European team events, underlining his value beyond individual competition.

On the IJF World Tour he captured prestigious titles, including gold at the IJF Masters in St Petersburg in 2017, Guangzhou in 2018 and Doha in 2021. He also won Grand Slam gold in Düsseldorf and claimed three victories in Paris.

“Known as “Lipo” later celebrated domestic success by winning the Champions League with Fighter Tbilisi in 2022, further cementing his legacy in Georgian judo.

Profile on JudoInside
Back to the overview