Lightweight (≤57 kilograms), Women

Aiko Sato had won the 2011 World Championships, but was not chosen for the Japanese Olympic team, that going instead to Kaori Matsumoto, who was a bronze medalist behind Sato in 2011. Matsumoto had a difficult draw, but kept winning, defeating 2008 gold medalist Giulia Quintavalle in the quarter-finals, and then winning over France’s Automne Pavia by a golden score in the semi-finals, to make it to the final, where she met Romanian Corine Căprioriu, with whom she had shared bronze medals at the 2011 Worlds. The final was a dull affair, which was scoreless through regulation. Only 17 seconds into extra-time Căprioriu was disqualified for a banned move, using a reap supporting leg move, and the gold medal was Matsumoto’s.

One bronze medal went to American giant killer Marti Malloy who had first defeated #3 seed Telma Monteiro (POR) in the first round, and then beating Quintavalle for the bronze. Pavia won the other bronze medal by defeating Hungarian Hedvig Karakas.