Dirk Van Tichelt

Dirk Van Tichelt (born 10 June 1984) is a Belgian judoka. Van Tichelt's biggest achievement was his 2008 European title in Lisbon. At the same year, at the Beijing Olympics he came fifth after losing in the first round to gold-medallist Elnur Mammadli and later losing in the bronze medal match to Rasul Boqiev. At the 2009 World Championships, he reached the semi-finals but there he lost to Kim Chol-Su. In the bronze medal match he beat Sezer Huysuz to take his first bronze medal at a world championships. At the 2013 World Championships, he again won bronze, losing to eventual champion Shohei Ono in the semi-final and beating Dastan Ykybayev in his bronze medal match. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Van Tichelt won a bronze medal against Miklós Ungvári. Van Tichelt studied at Vrije Universiteit Brussel.