Sami Chouchi
Belgian judoka (born 1993)
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Sami Chouchi (born 22 March 1993) is a Belgian retired[1][2][3] judoka.[4] He started off his career in the –73 kg weight category, switched in 2017 to the –81 kg weight category where he found his path to an Olympic Games blocked by fellow Belgian Matthias Casse, so in 2023 he switched again to the heavier –90 kg weight category.[2][3] He won a silver medal in the –81 kg 2018 European Championships and a bronze in the 2022 European Championships and had eight podium places in Grand Slams and Grand Prix[3] with a gold at the 2021 Tbilisi Grand Slam[5] and bronze at the 2021 Tashkent,[6] the 2022 Paris[7] and the 2022 Tel Aviv[8] Grand Slams.[2] He announced his retirement from the sport via social media on 22 May 2025 at the age of 32, citing the pain no longer worth the effort.[1][2][3]
Sami Chouchi (left), 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 22 March 1993 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Judoka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 185 cm (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Belgium | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Judo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight class | –81 kg, –90 kg | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 22 May 2025[1][2][3] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Champ. | 7th (2021) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| European Champ. | 
(2018) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Profile at external databases | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IJF | 14617 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| JudoInside.com | 56514 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Updated on 25 May 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sports career
He was born in Brussels to a family of immigrants from North Africa – his father is Tunisian, his mother is Moroccan.[9] He started judo in Uccle at the La Chênaie club under Alexandre Lespineux. He has been a member of the Belgian national team since 2014 in the lightweight category up to 73 kg. He did not qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics . Since 2017 he has competed in the upper welterweight category up to 81 kg.
