Half-Middleweight (≤78 kilograms), Men

Japan had brought a dominant team to Atlanta, and the favorite in this class was also a Japanese, Toshihiko Koga, the 1995 World Champion in this class. Koga had been Olympic Champion in 1992 in lightweight, and was twice World Champion in the lightweight class (1989, 1991). Koga had briefly retired after the 1992 Olympics but came back for the 1995 Worlds. He had won five consecutive Kodakan Cups and six consecutive All-Japan championships. Koga made it to the final easily, where he faced France’s Djamel Bouras, whose previous biggest accomplishment was a bronze at the 1995 Worlds. The final was a defensive battle, with Koga leading until he was penalized for passivity with only 12 seconds remaining. This brought the match to hantei, with all three judges giving the decision to Bouras for the gold medal. Bouras would win a silver medal at the 1997 Worlds, while Koga would continue to compete thru 2000, but was never again a major factor at internationals.