Irakli Goginashvili Wins SportsAid’s One-to-Watch Award

British Judo is proud to celebrate Irakli Goginashvili (Palavani Judo Club), who has been crowned the winner of SportsAid’s One-to-Watch Award 2025, marking another historic milestone in a breakthrough year for the rising star.

Irakli has enjoyed a landmark season, rewriting the history books for British Judo by becoming Great Britain’s first male junior European champion in 25 years and securing a bronze medal at the Junior World Championships — the nation’s first male junior world medal in 14 years.

The European champion now adds one of SportsAid’s most prestigious accolades to his growing list of achievements, becoming the first judoka to win the One-to-Watch Award.

Reacting to the news, Irakli said: “Being selected as the winner of the 2025 SportsAid One-to-Watch Award is a great feeling. It was so unexpected. I looked at the list of athletes who have won it in the past and thought, ‘Imagine if I’m the first judo athlete on that list’.

Being the first for judo is a huge step for me, for our club and for the sport.”

Irakli’s journey in judo began almost as soon as he could walk. Introduced to the sport by his father, he was competing as a toddler and standing on podiums by the age of three. A talented all-round sportsperson, he also played rugby before committing fully to judo at the age of nine.

His recent success has been supported by enhanced training environments, including a move to Peacock Gym, providing consistent access to mats, strength and conditioning facilities and a professional training set-up.

Irakli has also highlighted the crucial role played by SportsAid, particularly in enabling him to access international competitions and training camps.

“SportsAid has been massive for me. Competing abroad is really expensive and without that support, I would have missed out on so many competitions and camps. Those experiences are what lead to results. Knowing SportsAid believed in me gave me even more motivation.”

That support proved vital during his recovery from knee surgery, allowing him to rebuild his form through carefully managed training and competition exposure — culminating in the biggest results of his young career.

Now recognised as the number one athlete to watch in 2025, Irakli’s ambition is clear: to become Great Britain’s first male Olympic judo champion.

“That’s the dream — to write history again. I know it will take dedication and discipline, but that’s what I love about judo. One day, I’d also love to give back to the sport as a coach and help the next generation.”

The SportsAid One-to-Watch Award, supported by Aldi, celebrates Britain’s brightest emerging talents. Previous winners include Olympic champions Tom Daley and Alex Yee, and Paralympic gold medallist Hollie Arnold.

Irakli was selected as the standout athlete from more than 800 emerging talents supported by SportsAid in 2025 and receives a £1,000 award as the overall winner.

Congratulations, Irakli — a truly prestigious achievement and a perfect way to close out an outstanding year.

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