Featherweight, Freestyle (≤55 kg), Men

American Henry Cejudo had won the 2007 Pan American Games gold medal but had not featured at the World Championships. A Mexican-American born to undocumented immigrants he had overcome more than most Olympians to reach the top. He made it to the final with a series of upsets and met Japan’s Tomohiro Matsunaga, who also had little international reputation, but who had defeated the 2007 World Champion, Russian Besik Kudukhov in the semi-finals. Cejudo won the first two periods over Matsunaga to claim the gold medal. Matsunaga later competed in some Sasuke competitions in Japan, a televised obstacle course event.