Pihla Salonen has been knocking increasingly loudly on the door of the international elite and in Lima the Finnish judoka finally added a World Judo Tour gold medal to her growing collection. Her victory in the U57kg category was another indication that Finland has a contender capable of becoming a regular presence at the highest level.
The 22 year old had already demonstrated her potential well before arriving in Peru. European Junior champion in 2022 and silver medallist a year later, Salonen added European U23 bronze in 2024 before making significant progress among the seniors. Seventh place at the 2025 World Championships in Budapest showed that she could compete with the world’s best, while bronze at the Tbilisi Grand Slam earlier this year confirmed that result was no exception.
Her final against Spain’s Marta Rodriguez Salvador developed cautiously. For almost half the contest there was little separating the two Europeans, with neither able to establish a decisive advantage. Salonen needed only one opening to change everything.
The Finn attacked with kata-guruma and added a powerful rotational movement that left Rodriguez Salvador with no opportunity to escape. The Spaniard landed for ippon and Salonen had secured the first Grand Prix title of her career.
For a judoka who has already won four Finnish senior titles, the victory represents another important marker in her transition from successful junior to established senior international athlete.
“Winning gold is always the goal. I think everyone comes here to win, no-one aims for silver or bronze,” Salonen said. “When I looked at the draw, it wouldn’t have mattered if I had a world champion in my first fight; I always believe that I have a chance and can go home with a medal.”
That confidence increasingly appears justified. Salonen’s results over the past two seasons suggest she is no longer simply a young athlete gaining experience on the World Judo Tour. After a Grand Slam podium, a World Championship quarter-final appearance and now Grand Prix gold, she is steadily building the results to match her ambition.
Behind the two finalists, Marica Perisic added another World Tour medal to Serbia’s collection. Her bronze medal contest with Italy’s Veronica Toniolo never developed into a flowing encounter, with both experienced judoka struggling to impose their preferred rhythm. Perisic eventually found the small advantage she needed, scoring yuko with seoi-otoshi. In such a tight contest, it proved sufficient to secure bronze.
The second bronze medal went to Brazil’s Jessica Lima, continuing a productive tournament for the Brazilian delegation. Her contest against Britain’s Acelya Toprak offered considerably more physicality, with both athletes fully committed from the beginning.
Toprak’s pressure repeatedly created attacking situations, but it also provided Lima with opportunities to counter. The decisive moment arrived when the Brazilian reacted to a British attack with ko-soto-gake. With only 45 seconds remaining, the advantage was too much for Toprak to recover from and Lima added another medal to Brazil’s rapidly growing Lima tally.
The gold, however, belonged to Finland and to an athlete whose progression is becoming difficult to overlook. Salonen has moved from European junior champion to Grand Slam medallist and Grand Prix winner within four years. After finishing seventh at the Worlds last season, the next target is obvious: turning those increasingly consistent performances into a first senior championship medal.