Japan's Judo domination to continue in Athens?

At first glance, it may not seem too surprising that 21 of judo's 60 Olympic gold medals have gone to the nation where it originated, Japan. France, with six gold medals, is the next best-performed nation in Olympic competition. Consider the sport's rapid global expansion and the fact that Japan will have just seven men in the 233-strong field at ATHENS 2004, however, and you get a better appreciation of a record achieved against a backdrop of enormous national expectation.

That expectation was never higher than at the Tokyo in 1964, when judo made its debut as an Olympic sport. The Japanese judokas responded by winning three of the four weight classifications then represented, only Dutch three-time world champion Anton GEESINK (in the now-discontinued Open category) standing in the way of a clean sweep.

By 1988, the balance of power had shifted dramatically. After six of the seven weight categories had been decided, Japan was at risk of leaving Seoul without a single gold medal. The nation held its breath as defending Olympic champion Hitoshi SAITO (over 100g category) walked onto the tatami mat for his match against East Germany's Henry STOHR. The 143kg giant answered his country's call to become Japan's first two-time Olympic judo gold medallist.

There was no escaping the obvious, though. Japan's domination of judo was no longer assured. Of the other gold medallists in Seoul, hosts Korea provided two, while France, Poland, Austria and Brazil provided one each.

Not that the Japanese were a spent force. Far from it. At the Sydney 2000 Olympics they showed they still boasted some of the best judokas in the world as they won three of the seven gold medals on offer. The evidence of that depth lies in the fact that 17 different judoka have now been responsible for Japan's 21 gold medals.

The next chapter of this story is due to be played out at ATHENS 2004, where Tadahiro NOMURA (60kg) will be seeking to become the first judoka to win three consecutive gold medals. NOMURA is part of a team that includes current Olympic and world champion Kosei INOUE (under 100kg) and Keiji SUZUKI, who won the Open category at the World Championships in Osaka and will compete in the over 100kg category.

The Olympic judo competition will be held over seven days at the 6000-capacity Ano Liossia Olympic Hall.

Rules have been simplified since Sydney. Now only shido and Hansoku-make (disqualification) can be given as punishments. Four shido add up to Hansoku-make. Chui and Keikoku only exist to clarify the number of shido (chui meaning two, keikoku meaning three). Shido will be indicated as yellow cards on the scoreboard.