| | Event type
Half-Middleweight (≤61 kilograms), Women
| Date | 23 July 1996 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Georgia (Hall H) | |
| Participants | 24 from 24 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. | |
The last two World Champions had been Gella Vandecaveye (BEL-1993) and Jeong Seong-Suk (KOR-1995). Joining them in Atlanta was the defending champion, France’s Catherine Fleury, defending silver medalist Yael Arad of Israel, and the 1996 European Champion, Jenny Gal of the Netherlands. Japan’s Yuko Emoto was not considered a contender. But in Pool B she consecutively defeated Fleury, Arad, and Gal to advance to the final. Jeong had lost the Pool A final to Vandecaveye, and met Emoto in the final. The final was an easy victory for Emoto who used uchi-mata for ippon to win in 0:55. Emoto never made the podium at the World Championships with her best other international placing being a silver at the 1994 Asian Games.
Pool A (23 July 1996)
Round One (23 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Xiomara Griffith |  VEN | Ippon/Harai-goshi (3:04) | Celita Schutz |  USA |
| Match #2 | Hajer Tbessi |  TUN | Ippon/Uchi-mata (3:05) | Wu Ching Hui |  HKG |
| Match #3 | Jeong Seong-Suk |  KOR | Yuko/Uchi-mata (4:00) | Susann Singer |  GER |
| Match #4 | İlknur Kobaş |  TUR | Ippon/Kusure-kesa-gatame (3:08) | Cristiane Parmigiano |  BRA |
Quarter-Finals (23 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Xiomara Griffith | VEN | Ippon/Harai-makikomi (2:17) | Michaela Vernerová |  CZE |
| Match #2 | Gella Vandecaveye |  BEL | Ippon/Uchi-mata (0:26) | Hajer Tbessi | TUN |
| Match #3 | Jeong Seong-Suk | KOR | Ippon/Sankaku-jime (1:00) | Laurie Pace |  MLT |
| Match #4 | İlknur Kobaş | TUR | Waza-ari/Ko-uchi-gari (4:00) | Liu Lizhe |  CHN |
Semi-Finals (23 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Gella Vandecaveye | BEL | Ippon/Juji-gatame (1:26) | Xiomara Griffith | VEN |
| Match #2 | Jeong Seong-Suk | KOR | Ippon/Sankaku-jime (1:31) | İlknur Kobaş | TUR |
Final Round (23 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Gella Vandecaveye | BEL | Yuko/Harai-goshi (4:00) | Jeong Seong-Suk | KOR |
Repêchage (23 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Xiomara Griffith | VEN | Ippon/Kuchiki-taoshi (1:06) | Hajer Tbessi | TUN |
| Match #2 | Susann Singer | GER | Waza-ari-wasete Ippon/O-uchi-gari (0:55) | Laurie Pace | MLT |
| Match #3 | İlknur Kobaş | TUR | Ippon/Kuchiki-taoshi (1:04) | Susann Singer | GER |
| Match #4 | İlknur Kobaş | TUR | Ippon/Ushiro-goshi (0:14) | Xiomara Griffith | VEN |
| Match 3/4 | Jenny Gal-Vismara |  NED | Ippon/Juji-gatame (2:12) | İlknur Kobaş | TUR |
Pool B (23 July 1996)
Round One (23 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Yuko Emoto |  JPN | Waza-ari/O-soto-gari (4:00) | Tatyana Bogomyagkova |  RUS |
| Match #2 | Yael Arad |  ISR | Yuko/Seoi-nage (4:00) | Birgit Blum |  LIE |
| Match #3 | Diane Bell |  GBR | Yusei-gachi (4:00) | Lara Sullivan |  AUS |
| Match #4 | Jenny Gal-Vismara | NED | Waza-ari-wasete Ippon/Kusure-yoko-shiho-gatame (2:44) | Michelle Buckingham |  CAN |
Quarter-Finals (23 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Yuko Emoto | JPN | Yusei-gachi (4:00) | Cathy Fleury-Vachon |  FRA |
| Match #2 | Yael Arad | ISR | Ippon/O-soto-gari (0:55) | Valentina Kamsulyeva |  KAZ |
| Match #3 | Sara Álvarez |  ESP | Waza-ari/Tani-otoshi (4:00) | Diane Bell | GBR |
| Match #4 | Jenny Gal-Vismara | NED | Koka/Kesa-gatame (4:00) | Ileana Beltrán |  CUB |
Semi-Finals (23 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Yuko Emoto | JPN | Waza-ari/Uchi-mata (4:00) | Yael Arad | ISR |
| Match #2 | Jenny Gal-Vismara | NED | Waza-ari-wasete Ippon/Kusure-kesa-gatame (1:12) | Sara Álvarez | ESP |
Final Round (23 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Yuko Emoto | JPN | Koka/O-uchi-gari (4:00) | Jenny Gal-Vismara | NED |
Repêchage (23 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Tatyana Bogomyagkova | RUS | Yuko/Sumi-gaeshi (4:00) | Cathy Fleury-Vachon | FRA |
| Match #2 | Yael Arad | ISR | Koka/O-soto-gari (4:00) | Tatyana Bogomyagkova | RUS |
| Match #3 | Ileana Beltrán | CUB | Yuko/Sode-tsuri-komi-goshi (4:00) | Michelle Buckingham | CAN |
| Match #4 | Sara Álvarez | ESP | Waza-ari/Kibisu-gaeshi (4:00) | Ileana Beltrán | CUB |
| Match #5 | Yael Arad | ISR | Ippon/Seoi-nage (3:15) | Sara Álvarez | ESP |
| Match 3/4 | Jeong Seong-Suk | KOR | Yuko/Uchi-mata (4:00) | Yael Arad | ISR |
Final Round (23 July 1996)
| Match 1/2 | Yuko Emoto | JPN | Ippon/Uchi-mata (0:55) | Gella Vandecaveye | BEL |