Extra-Lightweight (≤48 kilograms), Women

Kosovan Distria Krasniqi was the defending gold medalist in this class but she had moved up to 52 kg (half-lightweight) for Paris 2024. The heavy favorite was Japan’s Natsumi Tsunoda, who was the World Champion at 48 kg in 2021, 2022, and 2023. She also won the 2023 Asian Games title. In 2020, Tsunoda moved to the 48 kg class due to Uta Abe’s dominant presence in the 52 kg class. Also highly considered was Italy’s Assunta Scutto, who was world ranked #1 before Paris but had yet to win a World title. She did win three IJF Grand Slam events in 2023. At home, France’s Shirine Boukli was also a big contender. She was European champion in 2020, 2022, and 2023, runner-up at the 2023 World Championships, and won the Paris Grand Slam in February 2024.

Scutto won her first match by ippon, but had the misfortune to lose in the quarter-finals to Sweden’s Tara Babulfath. Boukli lost to Tsunoda in quarter-finals. Scutto was out of the medal chase after losing to Boukli in the repêchage round. Tsunoda dominated the early rounds, winning all her matches by ippon, until the final, when she met Mongolia’s Bavuudorjiin Baasankhüü. The match was close early, with three shido penalties, one by Tsunoda and two by Bavuudorjiin, but Tsunoda prevailed by waza-ari at 2:54, using tomoe-nage to take the gold medal.

Babulfath won one bronze medal by defeating Kazakh Abiba Abuzhakynova by ippon, using kuzure-kesa-gatame. The other bronze medal match paired Boukli and Spain’s Laura Martínez, with Boukli winning by waza-ari near the end of regulation time, a victory that delighted the home country fans as it gave France its first medal in the judo competition.