IBJJF 2017 European Jiu-Jitsu ChampionshipJan 28, 2017 by Hywel Teague
The Viking Jiu-Jitsu Raiders Submitting Their Way To Gold And Glory
The Viking Jiu-Jitsu Raiders Submitting Their Way To Gold And Glory
If you were asked to name the top countries for emerging jiu-jitsu talent, you would do well to include the Scandinavian nations of Norway, Sweden and Finland in your answer.
If you were asked to name the top countries for emerging jiu-jitsu talent, you would do well to include the Scandinavian nations of Norway, Sweden, and Finland in your answer.
As we saw at the IBJJF 2017 European Championships in Lisbon, Portugal, there is a wealth of talent coming out of the Nordic nations.
We saw many up-and-comers representing teams such as Prana (Stockholm, Sweden) and Frontline (Oslo, Norway) take medals at blue and purple.
Two brown belts from Norway impressed the most, though, as Espen Mathiesen and Tommy Langaker hacked and slashed their way through their respective divisions to take European gold.
Tommy Langaker (blue) and Espen Mathiesen (white) celebrate their 2017 European gold medals. Photo: Reid Connell / FloGrappling
Look out, the Vikings are coming…
Mathiesen and Langaker are teammates representing Kimura-Nova Uniao. They come from the west coast of Norway, hailing from the small towns of Egersund (population 11,473) and Haugersund (pop. 36,538).
With Mathiesen in the lightweight category and Langaker in the middleweight, they've made a name for themselves as warriors who travel far and wide in search of tough challenges. From Southern California to Sao Paulo, they've tasted victory across the globe.
And at the European Championships in Portugal, they both submitted every single one of their opponents to win golds in their weight divisions.
Mathiesen finished all of his matches in less combined time than a regulation brown belt match, winning gold after a total of around seven minutes.
Langaker looked equally impressive, submitting everybody in his path before taking out the very tough Max Lindblad of Sweden in the final, finishing his fellow Scandinavian with a brutal toehold.
Together with fellow Norwegian brown belt Vegard Randeberg (2017 European silver medalist), they have formed a training group in Langaker's hometown of Haugersund called "Wulfing," a name of an ancient Viking clan meaning "Wolf Clan"
First Round: Espen Mathiesen def. Jacopo Madaro by armbar in approx. 40 seconds
Second Round: Espen Mathiesen def. Jonathan Brinkhaus by choke in approx. 50 seconds
Quarterfinal: Espen Mathiesen def. Quentin Julien Arola via triangle in approx. 1 min
Semifinal: Espen Mathiesen def. Lars Erik Mikael Friberg via choke in approx. 3 mins.
Final: Espen Mathiesen def. Pedro Ramalho via choke in approx. 90 seconds
First round: Tommy Langaker def. Burak Z Sarman via choke in approx. 4:30
Quarterfinal: Tommy Langaker def. Bryn Jenkins via triangle in approx. 30 seconds
Semifinal: Tommy Langaker def. Thomas Mietz via choke in approx. 2 mins
Final: Tommy Langaker def. Max Lindblad via toehold in approx. 5:30
Click here to watch all match videos from the IBJJF Europeans
As we saw at the IBJJF 2017 European Championships in Lisbon, Portugal, there is a wealth of talent coming out of the Nordic nations.
We saw many up-and-comers representing teams such as Prana (Stockholm, Sweden) and Frontline (Oslo, Norway) take medals at blue and purple.
Two brown belts from Norway impressed the most, though, as Espen Mathiesen and Tommy Langaker hacked and slashed their way through their respective divisions to take European gold.
Tommy Langaker (blue) and Espen Mathiesen (white) celebrate their 2017 European gold medals. Photo: Reid Connell / FloGrappling
Look out, the Vikings are coming…
Mathiesen and Langaker are teammates representing Kimura-Nova Uniao. They come from the west coast of Norway, hailing from the small towns of Egersund (population 11,473) and Haugersund (pop. 36,538). With Mathiesen in the lightweight category and Langaker in the middleweight, they've made a name for themselves as warriors who travel far and wide in search of tough challenges. From Southern California to Sao Paulo, they've tasted victory across the globe.
And at the European Championships in Portugal, they both submitted every single one of their opponents to win golds in their weight divisions.
Mathiesen finished all of his matches in less combined time than a regulation brown belt match, winning gold after a total of around seven minutes.
Langaker looked equally impressive, submitting everybody in his path before taking out the very tough Max Lindblad of Sweden in the final, finishing his fellow Scandinavian with a brutal toehold.
Together with fellow Norwegian brown belt Vegard Randeberg (2017 European silver medalist), they have formed a training group in Langaker's hometown of Haugersund called "Wulfing," a name of an ancient Viking clan meaning "Wolf Clan"
Watch Espen Mathiesen and Tommy Langaker at the IBJJF 2017 Europeans
First Round: Espen Mathiesen def. Jacopo Madaro by armbar in approx. 40 seconds
Second Round: Espen Mathiesen def. Jonathan Brinkhaus by choke in approx. 50 seconds
Quarterfinal: Espen Mathiesen def. Quentin Julien Arola via triangle in approx. 1 min
Semifinal: Espen Mathiesen def. Lars Erik Mikael Friberg via choke in approx. 3 mins.
Final: Espen Mathiesen def. Pedro Ramalho via choke in approx. 90 seconds
First round: Tommy Langaker def. Burak Z Sarman via choke in approx. 4:30
Quarterfinal: Tommy Langaker def. Bryn Jenkins via triangle in approx. 30 seconds
Semifinal: Tommy Langaker def. Thomas Mietz via choke in approx. 2 mins
Final: Tommy Langaker def. Max Lindblad via toehold in approx. 5:30
Click here to watch all match videos from the IBJJF Europeans