Lightweight (≤56 kilograms), Women

Driulys González of Cuba was the 1995 World Champion and favored in this class. The final in Atlanta was a replay of the 1995 World Championship, with González facing Korea’s Jeong Seon-Yong. The match was close with González winning only by yuko. It was one of many international medals for Cuba’s greatest ever female judoka. In a long career that lasted thru the 2008 Olympics, González won four Olympic medals (gold 1996, silver 2000, bronze in 1992 and 2004), seven World Championship medals (including three golds in 1995, 1999, and 2007), and two Pan-American gold medals in 1995 and 2003. Jeong also had a long career though not quite at the level of González. Her two silver medals against González were the top placements of her career at the Worlds or Olympics. She was a three-time Asian Champion and won a gold medal at the 1994 Asian Games.