Judo at the Summer Olympics
Encyclopedia
Judo
Judo
is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...

was first included in the Summer Olympic Games
Summer Olympic Games
The Summer Olympic Games or the Games of the Olympiad are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Olympic Committee. Medals are awarded in each event, with gold medals for first place, silver for second and bronze for third, a tradition that...

at the 1964 Games
1964 Summer Olympics
The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...

 in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

. After not being included in 1968, judo has been an Olympic sport in each Olympiad since then. Only male judoka participated until the 1988 Summer Olympics
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...

, when women participated as a demonstration sport
Demonstration sport
A demonstration sport is a sport which is played to promote itself, most commonly during the Olympic Games, but also at other sporting events.Demonstration sports were officially introduced in 1912 Summer Olympics, when Sweden decided to include glima, traditional Icelandic wrestling, in the...

. Women judoka were first awarded medals at the 1992 Summer Olympics
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...

.

Competition format

Judoka compete in weight classes. Gold and silver medals are awarded based on a single elimination bracket. Two bronze medals are awarded in each weight class; two judoka from a repechage
Repechage
Repechage is a practice amongst ladder competitions that allows participants that failed to meet qualifying standards by a small margin to continue to the next round.- Types of repechage :...

for those who are eliminated by one of the eventual semifinalists face the two semifinal losers for the bronze medals.

Weight classes

There have been between 4 and 8 Olympic weight classes over the years (currently 7), and the definition of each class has changed several times, as shown in the following table.

Men

1964 1972-1976  1980-1984   1988-1992  1996-2008
Open category
no weight limits
 
Heavyweight
+80 kg
Heavyweight
+93 kg
Heavyweight
+95 kg
Heavyweight
+100 kg
Half Heavyweight
90-100 kg
Half Heavyweight
86-95 kg
Half Heavyweight
80-93 kg
Middleweight
81-90 kg
Middleweight
78-86 kg
Half Middleweight
73-81 kg
Middleweight
68-80 kg
Middleweight
70-80 kg
Half Middleweight
71-78 kg
Lightweight
66-73 kg
Lightweight
65-71 kg
Half Middleweight
63-70 kg
Lightweight
-68 kg
Half Lightweight
60-66 kg
Half Lightweight
60-65 kg
Lightweight
-63 kg
Extra Lightweight
-60 kg
4 6 8 7 7

Women

1992-1996 2000-2008
Heavyweight
+72 kg
Heavyweight
+78 kg
Half Heavyweight
70-78 kg
Half Heavyweight
66-72 kg
Middleweight
63-70 kg
Middleweight
61-66 kg
Half Middleweight
57-63 kg
Half Middleweight
56-61 kg
Lightweight
52-57 kg
Lightweight
52-56 kg
Half Lightweight
48-52 kg
Extra Lightweight
-48 kg
7 7


Medal table

Judoka from 50 nations have won medals, representing all 6 continents.
1  Japan 35 15 15 65
2  France 10 8 19 37
3  South Korea 9 14 14 37
4  People's Republic of China 8 2 8 18
5  Cuba 5 11 16 32
6  Soviet Union 5 5 13 23
7  Netherlands 4 2 14 20
8  Poland 3 3 2 8
9  Italy 3 3 6 12
10  Spain 3 1 2 6
11  Germany 3 0 10 13
12  Brazil 2 3 10 15
13  Austria 2 2 1 5
14  Belgium 2 1 7 10
15  Georgia (country) 2 1 2 5
16 align="left" |2 0 2 4
17  West Germany 1 4 3 8
18  German Democratic Republic 1 2 6 9
19  Hungary 1 2 4 7
20  North Korea 1 2 4 7
21  Mongolia 1 1 3 5
22  Switzerland 1 1 2 4
23  Romania 1 0 3 4
24  Azerbaijan 1 0 1 2
24  Belarus 1 0 1 2
24  Turkey 1 0 1 2
27  Greece 1 0 0 1
28  United Kingdom 0 7 9 16
29  United States 0 3 7 10
30  Russia 0 3 5 8
31  Canada 0 2 2 4
32  Uzbekistan 0 2 1 3
33  Bulgaria 0 1 2 3
33  Israel 0 1 2 3
33  Ukraine 0 1 2 3
36  Algeria 0 1 1 2
36 align="left" |0 1 1 2
36  Egypt 0 1 1 2
39  Kazakhstan 0 1 0 1
39  Slovakia 0 1 0 1
41  Estonia 0 0 3 3
42  Australia 0 0 2 2
42  Slovenia 0 0 2 2
42  Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 0 0 2 2
45  Argentina 0 0 1 1
45  Czechoslovakia 0 0 1 1
45  Iceland 0 0 1 1
45  Kyrgyzstan 0 0 1 1
45  Latvia 0 0 1 1
45  Portugal 0 0 1 1
45  Tajikistan 0 0 1 1
|align=left|Total 109 108 218 434

Number of judoka by nation

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