Judo

The founder of judo, Dr. Jigaro Kano, was a long-time member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Judo is a form of wrestling that was developed by Dr. Kano from the ancient Japanese schools of yawara and jujitsu. He founded his first dojo (judo school) in 1882, termed the Kodokan. The contestants are termed judoka and are classified into grades consisting of pupils (Kyu) and degrees (Dan). There are five classes of Kyu, advancing to first Kyu, and wearing a brown belt. Thereafter, the judoka achieves a Dan, beginning with first Dan (black belt) and advancing theoretically to 12th Dan (white belt). Fighting ability and technical knowledge advance a judoka to fifth Dan, after which advancement depends on service to the sport. Leading international judoka are usually fourth or fifth Dan. The 11th and 12th Dan have never been awarded.

Judo made its first Olympic appearance in 1964, but was not included on the program of the 1968 Olympic Games. Judo returned to the Olympic fold in 1972, and the 1992 Olympics included judo events for women for the first time. The sport, not surprisingly, has been dominated by the Japanese, followed by France and Korea.

The sport is governed internationally by the International Judo Federation (IJF), which was formed on 11 July 1951, in London, with eight founding members: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. As of 2022, the IJF has 206 member federations.

The top male Olympic judo medallists have been Teddy Riner, of France, and Tadahiro Nomura, of Japan, both with three gold medals. Riner is also the male judoka with more medals, with a total of five, followed by Angelo Parisi, with four medals while representing Great Britain and France. In the women’s tournament, six athletes have won two gold medals, but Japanese Ryoko Tamura-Tani is the only one of them who has five Olympic medals. On the overall medal count, she is followed by two Cubans – Idalys Ortiz and Driulis González – both with four medals and one gold.

Presidents of the International Judo Federation:

• Aldo Torti (ITA, 1951-1952)
• Risei Kano (JPN, 1952-1965)
• Charles Palmer (GBR, 1965-1979)
• Shigeyoshi Matsumae (JPN, 1979-1987)
• Sarkis Kaloghian (ARG, 1987-1989)
• Lawrie Hargrave (NZL, 1989-1991)
• Luis Baguena (ESP, 1991-1995)
• Park Yong-Sung (KOR, 1995-2007)
• Marius Vizer (AUT, 2007-present)