Extra-Lightweight (≤60 kilograms), Men

The Japanese representative in this class was expected to be Ryoju Sonoda, the 1993 World Champion. But he was upset in the Japanese trials by Tadahiro Nomura, who was not expected to challenge for a medal by the Japanese media. In his pool quarter-final match, Nomura faced the 1995 World Champion, Nikolay Ozhegin (RUS), winning by waza-ari. In the final, Nomura faced Italy’s Girolamo Giovinazzo, who was a former European Champion (1994) and had twice been Mediterranean Champion. Giovinazzo led for much of the match but with less than 30 seconds remaining, Nomura used seoi-nage to win by ippon. Though Nomura’s gold medal was considered a major upset, he would soon dominate this class, winning three consecutive Olympic gold medals and the 1997 World Championship. Giovinazzo never won another major title after his 1994 European gold, but was a very consistent performer at the Europeans, six times placing on the podium.