Heavyweight (>100 kilograms), Men

France won both men and women’s heavyweight gold medals on the final day of the Rio 2016 judo competition, and victory in the men’s edition was the final gold medal of the entire competition, repeating their feat of London 2012. Teddy Riner, the country’s flagbearer during the Opening Ceremony and one of the heavy favorites, successfully defended his gold medal from London. The 2.04 m tall, almost 140 kg giant, continued his winning streak at European and World Championships, as well as Olympic Games, because his last major defeat was in the final of the 2010 World Championships. In the quarter-final in Rio, Riner opposed the home favorite Rafael da Silva. Although Silva received three penalties, he survived the regular period of five minutes but was eventually defeated by a Waza-ari (half point) by Riner. In the semi-final, Riner had to once more go the full distance against Israel’s Or Sasson, again winning by a Waza-ari with Sumi-gaeshi (corner throw) in the last second.

The other half of the draw was dominated by Japan’s Hisayoshi Harasawa. After a difficult start in his first bout, he dominated his remaining opponents , winning the next three fights by Ippon (full point). The final was between the two dominant judokas in this division, Riner and Harasawa, but the gold medal was finally decided based on Shidos (penalties), with two given to Harasawa early in the bout and one to Riner half a minute from the final bell. This was enough for Riner to clinch the gold, leaving silver for Harasawa. The bronze medals went to two of Riner’s victims, Rafael Silva and Or Sasson.

In his first contest of the day, Sasson met Egypt’s Islam El-Shehaby, a fixture overshadowed by political issues. When the Israeli won by Ippon, El-Shehaby refused to shake hands or bow, the normal gesture of appreciation after any encounter in judo. Consequently, the Egyptian was booed by the crowd. Allegedly, he had been under pressure by nationalists and Islamists not to compete at all.