Judo at the Olympics
Judo was first included for men at the Olympic Games in 1964 Games in Tokyo. Judo was not included in the following Games in 1968, though was reinstated as an Olympic sport from then on. Women's judo was introduced as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Olympics, and became an official sport in 1992.
judo match Judo at the Paris Olympics
There are 14 bodyweight classes, seven each for both men and women, plus a mixed team tournament which involves six athletes with three weight categories per gender competing.
Weight Categories:
- Men:
60 kg,
66 kg,
73 kg,
81 kg,
90 kg,
100 kg,
+100 kg
- Women: 48 kg, 52 kg, 57 kg, 63 kg, 70 kg, 78 kg, +78 kg
- Mixed Team Event (new in 2020)
Trivia
- Judo is a weight class event. There have been many different classes over the years, and the definition of each class has changed several times.
- The best all-time performing judo athlete at the Olympic Games is French judoka Teddy Riner. He has won three gold medals and two bronze medals between 2008 and 2021. See more on the Greatest Judo Competitors at the Olympics.
- Only one other judo athlete has won three gold medals. Japanese Judoka Tadahiro Nomura, won three gold medals between 1996-2004. He was first Olympic competitor from Asia to win three consecutive gold medals in any event, and the first judoka to have won three consecutive Olympic gold medals. His father was the coach of Shinji Hosokawa, the winner of the gold medal at Los Angeles 1984 in the same division, and his uncle Toyokazu Nomura won gold at Munich 1972 in the under 70kg division.
- Siblings Uta Abe and Hifumi Abe from Japan won individual gold medals in judo on the same day at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
- Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine and his coach Amar Benikhlef were banned from the sport for 10 years after Nourine withdrew from the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to avoid facing an Israeli opponent.
Related Pages
- List of Olympic Sports
- See more on the Greatest Judo Competitors at the Olympics.
- Judo at the Paralympics
- About the sport of Judo
- More about Martial Arts Sports
Any comments, suggestions, or corrections? Please let us know.
Upcoming Events