Judo was introduced in the Olympic Games in 1964 at Tokyo.  Japan, the host country for the Olympic Games, was allowed to add one additional sport and they chose Judo.  The Men’s division of Judo was first added at the 1964 Tokyo Games followed by the Women’s division in 1992 during the Barcelona Games.  Today there are seven weight classes for both men and women divisions.  Olympic Judo has two pools of single-elimination matches.  The winners of each pool compete for the gold.  The loser receives the silver medal.  The losers then compete in a single-elimination tournament for the bronze medal.

Judo meaning “gentle way” in Japanese was created by Dr Jigoro Kano in the 1882.  Judo incorporates many of the hand to hand marital arts combat of Ju Jitsu in its style.  It is often known by its throwing techniques, grappling, holds, locks and chokes on the ground.  These techniques are through the efficient use of balance, leverage, and movement in the performance of Judo moves.  A person’s technique, skill, and timing are more important in defeating an opponent than pure brute strength.

2004 Athens Olympic Judo Medal Winners

Men's Extra Lightweight (60 kg/132 lb)
Gold: Tadahiro Nomura, JPN
Silver: Nestor Khergiani, GEO
Bronze: Khashbaatar Tsagaanbaatar, MGL & Min Ho Choi, KOR

Men's Half Lightweight (66 kg/145.5 lb)
Gold: Masato Uchishiba, JPN
Silver: Jozef Krnac, SVK
Bronze: Georgi Georgiev, BUL & Yordanis Despaigne, CUB

Men's Lightweight (73 kg/164 lb)
Gold: Korea Won-Hee Lee, KOR
Silver: Vitaly Makarov, RUS
Bronze: Leandro Guilheiro, BRA & Jimmy Pedro, USA

Men's Half Middleweight (81 kg/178.5 lb)
Gold: Ilias Iliadis, GRE
Silver: Roman Gontyuk, UKR
Bronze: Dmitri Nossov, RUS & Flavio Canto, BRA

Men's Middleweight (90 kg/198.5 lb)
Gold: Zurab Zviadauri, GEO
Silver: Hiroshi Izumi, JPN
Bronze: Mark Huizinga, NED & Khasanbi Taov, RUS

Men's Half Heavyweight (100 kg/220.5 lb)
Gold: Ihar Makarau, BLR
Silver: Sung Ho Jang, KOR
Bronze: Michael Jurack, GER & Ariel Zeevi, ISR

Men's Heavyweight (Over 100 kg/220.5 lb)
Gold: Keiji Suzuki, JPN
Silver: Tamerlan Tmenov, RUS
Bronze: Indrek Pertelson, EST & Dennis van der Geest, NED

Women's Extra Lightweight (48 kg/106 lb)
Gold: Ryoko Tani, JPN
Silver: Frederique Jossinet, FRA
Bronze: Julia Matijass, GER & Feng Gao, CHN

Women's Half Lightweight (52 kg/114 lb)
Gold: Xian Dongmei, CHI
Silver: Yuki Yokosawa, JPN
Bronze: Ilse Heylen, BEL & Amarilys Savon, CUB

Women's Lightweight (57 kg/125.7 lb)
Gold: Yvonne Boenisch, GER
Silver: Kye Sun Hui, PRK
Bronze: Yurisleidy Lupetey, CUB & Deborah Gravenstijn, NED

Women's Half Middleweight (65 kg/130.1 lb)
Gold: Ayumi Tanimoto, JPN
Silver: Claudia Heill, AUT
Bronze: Urska Zolnir, SLV

Women's Middleweight (70 kg/154.5 lb)
Gold: Masae Ueno, JPN
Silver: Edith Bosch, NED
Bronze: Qin Dongya, CHN & Annett Boehm, GER

Women's Half Heavyweight (78 kg/172 lb)
Gold: Noriko Anno, JPN
Silver: Liu Xia, CHN
Bronze: Yurisel Laborde, CUB & Lucia Morico, ITA

Women's Heavyweight (Over 82 kg/172 lb)
Gold: Maki Tsukada, JPN
Silver: Dayma Beltran, CUB
Bronze: Sun Fuming, CHN & Tea Donguzashvili, RUS