| | Event type
Heavyweight (>95 kilograms), Men
| Date | 20 July 1996 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Georgia (Hall H) | |
| Participants | 33 from 33 countries | |
| Format | Two single-elimination pools, with winner of each pool advanced to the final. All judoka losing to the finalists in each pool advanced to repêchage pools, with the winners of the repêchage pools earning bronze medals. | |
David Douillet (FRA) had been World Champion in 1995 in both heavyweight and open class. He was favored but the 1992 gold medalist, Davit Khakhaleishvili (GEO), and silver medalist, Naoya Ogawa (JPN), were expected to give him stiff opposition. Khakhaleishvili never got to compete. He went to the Georgia World Congress Center for the weigh-in only to find that it was being held at the Olympic Village. Although he tried to get back to the Village, he was late for the weigh-in and was disqualified. It was a silly ruling as heavyweights are allowed unlimited weight. Douillet and Ogawa met in the Pool A final, with Douillet winning a close match only by shido. The final against Spain’s Ernesto Pérez was much easier, with Douillet using uchi-mata to win by ippon in 2:03. Douillet would win his fourth World Championship in the heavyweight class in 1997.
Pool A (20 July 1996)
Round One (20 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Harry Van Barneveld |  BEL | Chui/Non-Combativity (5:00) | Frank Moreno |  CUB |
Round Two (20 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Ruslan Sharapou |  BLR | Ippon/Harai-makikomi (1:58) | Damon Keeve |  USA |
| Match #2 | Rafał Kubacki |  POL | Sogo-gachi/Uchi-mata (4:33) | Indrek Pertelson |  EST |
| Match #3 | Naoya Ogawa |  JPN | Ippon/Ko-soto-gake (0:17) | Arnulfo Betancourt |  NCA |
| Match #4 | Charis Papaioannou |  GRE | Ippon/Ura-nage (0:33) | Miklos Szabo |  AUS |
| Match #5 | Igor Muller |  LUX | Ippon/Yoko-shiho-gatame (2:00) | Kamol Muradov |  UZB |
| Match #6 | David Douillet |  FRA | Keikoku/Non-Combativity (5:00) | Harry Van Barneveld | BEL |
| Match #7 | Saidahtam Rahimov |  TJK | Ippon/Kesa-gatame (4:38) | Orlando Baccino |  ARG |
| Match #8 | Eric Krieger |  AUT | Ippon/Kusure-yoko-shiho-gatame (3:17) | Kamel Larbi |  ALG |
Quarter-Finals (20 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Rafał Kubacki | POL | Chui/Non-Combativity (5:00) | Ruslan Sharapou | BLR |
| Match #2 | Naoya Ogawa | JPN | Ippon/Undetermined (0:30) | Charis Papaioannou | GRE |
| Match #3 | David Douillet | FRA | Sogo-gachi/Soto-makikomi (4:10) | Igor Muller | LUX |
| Match #4 | Eric Krieger | AUT | Koka/O-uchi-gari (5:00) | Saidahtam Rahimov | TJK |
Semi-Finals (20 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Naoya Ogawa | JPN | Yusei-gachi (5:00) | Rafał Kubacki | POL |
| Match #2 | David Douillet | FRA | Kiken-gachi (1:15) | Eric Krieger | AUT |
Final Round (20 July 1996)
| Match #1 | David Douillet | FRA | Shido/Defensive-Posture (5:00) | Naoya Ogawa | JPN |
Repêchage (20 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Charis Papaioannou | GRE | bye | ||
| Match #2 | Charis Papaioannou | GRE | Ippon/Kusure-yoko-shiho-gatame (2:09) | Rafał Kubacki | POL |
| Match #3 | Harry Van Barneveld | BEL | Chui/Non-Combativity (5:00) | Igor Muller | LUX |
| Match #4 | Harry Van Barneveld | BEL | bye | ||
| Match #5 | Harry Van Barneveld | BEL | Ippon/Ko-soto-gake (3:41) | Charis Papaioannou | GRE |
| Match 3/4 | Harry Van Barneveld | BEL | Ippon/Juji-gatame (1:22) | Liu Shenggang |  CHN |
Pool B (20 July 1996)
Round One (20 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Alexandru Lungu |  ROU | bye |
Round Two (20 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Ernesto Pérez |  ESP | Yuko/Harai-goshi (5:00) | Selim Tataroğlu |  TUR |
| Match #2 | Frank Möller |  GER | Ippon/Yoko-gake (0:33) | Denny Ebbers |  NED |
| Match #3 | Igor Peshkov |  KAZ | Waza-ari-wasete Ippon/Kusure-kami-shiho-gatame (1:51) | Slim Agrebi |  TUN |
| Match #4 | Imre Csősz |  HUN | Hansoku-make/Non-Combativity (4:31) | Mitar Milinković |  SCG |
| Match #5 | Frederico Flexa |  BRA | Ippon/Harai-makikomi (2:50) | Pitak Kampita |  THA |
| Match #6 | Sergey Kosorotov |  RUS | Ippon/Ko-soto-gake (0:17) | José Augusto Geraldino |  DOM |
| Match #7 | Vadim Sergeyev |  KGZ | Keikoku/Non-Combativity (5:00) | Khalifa Diouf |  SEN |
| Match #8 | Liu Shenggang | CHN | Hansoku-make/False-Attack (4:21) | Alexandru Lungu | ROU |
Quarter-Finals (20 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Ernesto Pérez | ESP | Yusei-gachi (5:00) | Frank Möller | GER |
| Match #2 | Imre Csősz | HUN | Waza-ari/O-uchi-gari (5:00) | Igor Peshkov | KAZ |
| Match #3 | Sergey Kosorotov | RUS | Ippon/Juji-gatame (0:41) | Frederico Flexa | BRA |
| Match #4 | Liu Shenggang | CHN | Chui/False-Attack (5:00) | Vadim Sergeyev | KGZ |
Semi-Finals (20 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Ernesto Pérez | ESP | Ippon/Uchi-mata (1:56) | Imre Csősz | HUN |
| Match #2 | Liu Shenggang | CHN | Ippon/Uchi-mata (0:10) | Sergey Kosorotov | RUS |
Final Round (20 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Ernesto Pérez | ESP | Waza-ari/Osae-komi-waza (5:00) | Liu Shenggang | CHN |
Repêchage (20 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Frank Möller | GER | Ippon/Ushiro-kesa-gatame (3:13) | Selim Tataroğlu | TUR |
| Match #2 | Frank Möller | GER | Ippon/Harai-makikomi (1:56) | Imre Csősz | HUN |
| Match #3 | Alexandru Lungu | ROU | Ippon/Sasae-tsuri-komi-ashi (3:40) | Vadim Sergeyev | KGZ |
| Match #4 | Sergey Kosorotov | RUS | Ippon/Juji-gatame (1:32) | Alexandru Lungu | ROU |
| Match #5 | Frank Möller | GER | Ippon/Sukui-nage (0:49) | Sergey Kosorotov | RUS |
| Match 3/4 | Frank Möller | GER | Ippon/Harai-makikomi (2:29) | Naoya Ogawa | JPN |
Final Round (20 July 1996)
| Match 1/2 | David Douillet | FRA | Ippon/Uchi-mata (2:03) | Ernesto Pérez | ESP |