| Date | 15 August 2008 — 12:00 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Beijing Keji Daxue Tiyuguan, Beijing | |
| Participants | 21 from 21 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 favorite was China’s Tong Wen, who was World Champion in 2003, 2005, and 2007, but she faced strong opposition in Japan’s Maki Tsukada, who was the 2004 Olympic gold medalist. Tsukada had been bronze medalist at the 2005 Worlds, silver medalist at the 2007 Worlds in the heavyweight class, and won the 2007 open class. The class went entirely per form and these two met in the final. With only a few seconds remaining in that match, Tong threw Tsukada for ippon to win the gold medal.
| Date | 15 August 2008 |
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| Date | 15 August 2008 |
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| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 15 Aug | Janelle Shepherd | AUS | Koka | Michela Torrenti | ITA | |
| Match #2 | 15 Aug | Tong Wen | CHN | Ippon | Tea Donguzashvili | RUS | |
| Match #3 | 15 Aug | Nihel Cheikh Rouhou | TUN | Ippon | Carmen Chalá | ECU |
| Date | 15 August 2008 |
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| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 15 Aug | Janelle Shepherd | AUS | Waza-ari | Sandra Köppen | GER | |
| Match #2 | 15 Aug | Idalys Ortiz | CUB | Ippon | Samah Ramadan | EGY | |
| Match #3 | 15 Aug | Tong Wen | CHN | Ippon | Maryna Prokof'ieva | UKR | |
| Match #4 | 15 Aug | Kim Na-Yeong | KOR | Yuko | Nihel Cheikh Rouhou | TUN |
| Date | 15 August 2008 |
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| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 15 Aug | Idalys Ortiz | CUB | Ippon | Janelle Shepherd | AUS | |
| Match #2 | 15 Aug | Tong Wen | CHN | Ippon | Kim Na-Yeong | KOR |
| Date | 15 August 2008 |
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| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 15 Aug | Tong Wen | CHN | Yuko | Idalys Ortiz | CUB |
| Date | 15 August 2008 |
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| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 15 Aug | Tea Donguzashvili | RUS | Yuko | Maryna Prokof'ieva | UKR | |
| Match #2 | 15 Aug | Samah Ramadan | EGY | Ippon | Janelle Shepherd | AUS | |
| Match #3 | 15 Aug | Kim Na-Yeong | KOR | Ippon | Tea Donguzashvili | RUS | |
| Match #4 | 15 Aug | Kim Na-Yeong | KOR | Waza-ari-wasete ippon | Samah Ramadan | EGY | |
| Match 3/5 | 15 Aug | Lucija Polavder | SLO | Koka | Kim Na-Yeong | KOR |
| Date | 15 August 2008 |
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| Date | 15 August 2008 |
|---|
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 15 Aug | Anne-Sophie Mondière | FRA | Waza-ari-wasete ippon | Mariya Shekirova | UZB | |
| Match #2 | 15 Aug | Gulzhan Isanova | KAZ | Waza-ari | Urszula Sadkowska | POL |
| Date | 15 August 2008 |
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| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 15 Aug | Maki Tsukada | JPN | Ippon | Anne-Sophie Mondière | FRA | |
| Match #2 | 15 Aug | Vanessa Zambotti | MEX | Yuko | Karina Bryant | GBR | |
| Match #3 | 15 Aug | Dorjgotovyn Tserenkhand | MGL | Yuko | Carola Uilenhoed | NED | |
| Match #4 | 15 Aug | Lucija Polavder | SLO | Ippon | Gulzhan Isanova | KAZ |
| Date | 15 August 2008 |
|---|
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 15 Aug | Maki Tsukada | JPN | Ippon | Vanessa Zambotti | MEX | |
| Match #2 | 15 Aug | Lucija Polavder | SLO | Ippon | Dorjgotovyn Tserenkhand | MGL |
| Date | 15 August 2008 |
|---|
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 15 Aug | Maki Tsukada | JPN | Ippon | Lucija Polavder | SLO |
| Date | 15 August 2008 |
|---|
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match #1 | 15 Aug | Anne-Sophie Mondière | FRA | Ippon | Vanessa Zambotti | MEX | |
| Match #2 | 15 Aug | Dorjgotovyn Tserenkhand | MGL | Ippon | Gulzhan Isanova | KAZ | |
| Match #3 | 15 Aug | Dorjgotovyn Tserenkhand | MGL | Ippon | Anne-Sophie Mondière | FRA | |
| Match 3/5 | 15 Aug | Idalys Ortiz | CUB | Ippon | Dorjgotovyn Tserenkhand | MGL |
| Date | 15 August 2008 |
|---|
| Match | Date/Time | Competitor | NOC | Result | Competitor | NOC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Match 1/2 | 15 Aug | Tong Wen | CHN | Ippon | Maki Tsukada | JPN |