Men’s -60kg
Despite being the 13th seed, Yeldos Smetov (Kazakhstan) managed to upset three opponents, including number one seed Yang Yung-wei (Taiwan) to get through to his medal fights. He would come up against Francisco Garrigos (Spain) who came through after beating Ryuju Nagayama (Japan) by ippon via chokehold. Salih Yildiz (Turkey) was able to upset Giorgi Sardalashvili (Georgia) on his way to taking on Luka Mkheidze (France) in the semi-final. Mkheidze would win after throwing his opponent for a waza-ari. The other semi-final went to golden score where Smetov scored an ippon to win. In the final, Smetov was penalised twice meaning Mkheidze only needed to get one more to win gold. However, Smetov was able to get a waza-ari and Mkheidze could not come back with a score. This meant Smetov completed the Olympic medal set. Nakayama was able to beat Yildiz for bronze, with two waza-ari’s. Garrigos beat Sardalashvili to take the other bronze with a golden score.
🥇Yeldos Smetov 🇰🇿
🥈Luka Mkheidze 🇫🇷
🥉Ryuju Nakayama 🇯🇵
🥉Francisco Garrigos 🇪🇸
Smetov was someone I suggested was not a serious contender. Sardalashvili was upset early in the draw
Men’s -66kg
Based on the seedings, the hope was to see a semi-final between Denis Vieru (Moldova) and Hifumi Abe (Japan). That did not look in danger until Abe got a bloody nose in his quarter-final with Nurali Emomali (Tajikistan). He fought through, his throw leaving Emomali unable to compete in the repechage. The semi-final would go to a golden score where Abe landed a hip sweep to progress. On the other side of the draw, Walide Khyar (France) upset Vasha Margvelashvili (Georgia) only to be beaten by Gusman Kyrgyzbaev (Kazakhstan) in the quarter-final. Willian Lima (Brazil) would come through to face him in the semi-finals, having beaten Yondonperenlein Baskhuu(Mongolia). In the semi, Kyrgyzbaev committed two penalties but Lima would soon do the same. It went into a golden score where Lima scored an ippon via tai-otoshi. In the final Abe would score a waza-ari to go into the lead and then win that final with an impressive throw.
🥇Hifumi Abe 🇯🇵
🥈Willian Lima 🇧🇷
🥉Gusman Kyrgyzbaev 🇰🇿
🥉Denis Vieru 🇲🇩
I got one side of the draw correct. Lima and Kyrgyzbaev were not considered.
Men’s -73kg
This was all about the crowning of Hidayet Heydarov (Azerbaijan). He tore his way through the competition despite being taken to a golden score by Arthur Margelidon (Canada). Manuel Lombardo (Italy) was expected to be his biggest competition but he was beaten by Akil Gjakova (Kosovo) by penalty points. Gjakova would also take Heydarov to a golden score, where Heydarov would land a seoi-otoshi to take gold. Soichi Hashimoto (Japan) was another of the expected contenders but would be beaten by Joan-Benjamin Gaba (France) who also upset Lasha Shavdatuashvili (Japan) on his way to the semi-finals. It was Adil Osmonov (Moldova) who came through the bottom quarter. Gaba would beat him quickly en route to the final.
🥇Hidayet Heydarov 🇦🇿
🥈Joan-Benjamin Gaba 🇫🇷
🥉Adil Osmanov 🇲🇩
🥉Soichi Hashimoto 🇯🇵
I possibly should have given more credence to Gaba as a contender in front of his home crowd
Men’s -81kg
Again the draw was key, seemingly pitting world number one Matthias Casse (Belgium) against reigning Olympic champion Takanori Nagase (Japan). Casse almost lost before that matchup having to come back against Sibghatullah Arab (Refugee) who scored an early waza-ari. When the big two clashed it was a waza-ari for Nagase. Antonio Esposito (Italy) upset Guilherme Schmidt (Brazil) and Francois Gauthier-Drapeau (Canada) to reach the semi-finals. Tato Grigalashvili (Georgia) and Lee Joon-hwan (South Korea) were more comfortable in making their way through to an anticipated semi-final. It would deliver on the hype. The two engaged in a marathon semi-final, going to a golden score. Eventually, it was Grigalashvili who landed a waza-ari to reach the final. He would come up against Nagase who beat Esposito by ippon. Nagase would dominate the final potentially with Grigalashvili blunted by his semi-final.
🥇Takanori Nagase 🇯🇵
🥈Tato Grigalashvili 🇬🇪
🥉Lee Jon-Hwan 🇰🇷
🥉Somon Makhmadbekov 🇹🇯
All four medalists came from the six I mentioned as the major contenders. I thought Casse would do better
Men’s -90kg
Most people were expecting it and we got the final most people hoped for. Sanshiro Murao (Japan) had looked especially impressive making his way through the competition and landed a waza-ari early in the final. Lasha Bekauri (Georgia) was his opponent looking to win a second Olympic title and would land two waza-ari’s to take gold. Bekauri had beaten Tristan Mosakhlishvili (Spain) in the golden score period. Murao would come up against Maxime-Gaël Ngayap (France) in the semi-final, who had upset Theodoros Tselidis (Greece) in the quarter-finals. Tselidis beat Mosakhlishvili to win bronze after an early tokui-waza allowed him to control the bout. Ngayap would win his bronze as Rafael Macedo (Brazil) amassed three penalty points.
🥇Lasha Bekauri 🇬🇪
🥈Sanshiro Murao 🇯🇵
🥉Maxime-Gaël Ngayap 🇫🇷
🥉Theodoros Tselidis 🇬🇷
I got the final correct but was not near the other two
Men’s -100kg
This was one of the strongest weight divisions. Zelym Kotsoiev (Azerbaijan) came through the top quarter relatively comfortably. Muzaffarbek Turoboyev (Uzbekistan) would make his way through behind his massive frame. Ilia Sulamanidze (Georgia) was able to eliminate reigning Olympic champion Aaron Wolf (Japan) using a waza-ari. In the semi-final, he would face Daniel Eich (Switzerland). It took Sulamanidze just twelve seconds to score an ippon to make the final. The better bout saw Kotsoiev get the win over Turoboyev. In the final, Sulamanidze took the early lead with a waza-ari. His downfall would come as he tried to keep away from Kotsoiev, eventually being penalised and losing the bout. In the bronze-medal matchups, Peter Paltchik (Israel) got the win with a waza-ari. More impressive was Turoboyev, throwing Nikoloz Sherazadishvili (Spain) twice within a few seconds to secure bronze.
🥇Zelym Kotsoiev 🇦🇿
🥈Ilia Sulamanidze 🇬🇪
🥉Muzaffarbek Turoboyev 🇺🇿
🥉Peter Paltchik 🇮🇱
Sulamanidze was my first man out of the medals but I thought the draw against Wolf would trouble him.
Men’s +100kg
The biggest story of the Judo at the Olympics was Teddy Riner (France) in his home country, looking for his fifth individual medal and third gold. With the loudest crowd in the arena, he started with a golden score against Magomedomar Magomedomarov (United Arab Emirates). He scored an ippon against Guram Tushishvili(Georgia) before a disqualification for the Georgian due to his post-match behaviour. His draw in the semi-final was a cosy one as Temur Rakhimov (Tajikistan) has always struggled with his power. So it proved as the Frenchman landed an ippon. In the final, it was another ippon against Kim Min-jong (South Korea), who had impressed on his way to the medal matchup, and Riner put a stamp on his legacy, in front of arguably the loudest crowd in Paris.
🥇Teddy Riner 🇫🇷
🥈Kim Min-Jong 🇰🇷
🥉Temur Rakhimov 🇹🇯
🥉Alisher Yusupov 🇺🇿
I felt I did well here. Only Rahmimov was incorrect and I mentioned him as someone who could end up on the podium
Women’s -48kg
Natsumi Tsunoda (Japan) was a dominant Olympic champion. She made her way through to the medal fights without a single bout going the allotted five minutes. That included defeating Shirine Boukli (France) who I thought would be her biggest rival. Instead, her greatest test came in the semi-final as she took on Tara Babulfath(Sweden). The 18-year-old is the youngest Judoka at the Olympics and took Tsunoda to a golden score where she was penalised for a false attack. She went on to face Baasankhuu Bavuudorj (Mongolia) in the final where she landed a tome-nage to clinch the gold. Boukli would beat Laura Martinez (Spain) with a waza-ari in the golden score to secure France’s first medal of the Olympics. Babulfath was able to rebound from her semi-final disappointment to also take bronze.
🥇Natsumi Tsunoda 🇯🇵
🥈Baasankhuu Bavuudorj 🇲🇳
🥉Shirine Boukli 🇫🇷
🥉Tara Babulfath 🇸🇪
Babulfath was the one I missed here but she was really impressive
Women’s -52kg
This was meant to be a double-double for the Abe siblings. Uta Abe (Japan) had only lost once since 2016 and was a heavy favourite. The draw was tough though as she came up against Diyora Keldiyorova (Uzbekistan) in the round of sixteen. Abe would get an early score only for Keldiyorova to land a beautiful throw to win by ippon. Abe would weep uncontrollably. Keldiyorova would prove it to be no fluke, beating Amandine Buchard (France) in the semi-final with a waza-ari. In the final, she came up against former Olympic champion Distria Krasniqi (Kosovo). She would score a waza-ari when landing a seoi-otoshi. Buchard managed to seal bronze by beating Reka Pupp(Hungary) with a kata-guruma. The other bronze medal matchup was between Larissa Pimenta (Brazil), who edged Chelsea Giles (Great Britain), and Odette Giuffrida (Italy). It was not the best bout, there were numerous penalties and Pimenta got the win when Giuffrida received a third.
🥇Diyora Keldiyorova 🇺🇿
🥈Distria Krasniqi 🇽🇰
🥉Larissa Pimenta 🇧🇷
🥉Amadine Buchard 🇫🇷
I don’t think anyone had Abe losing in what was arguably the shock of the Olympics.
Women’s -57kg
After an incredible battle to make the Olympics Christa Deguchi (Canada) proved the decision to be the correct one. It was a competition that mainly went as expected meaning we got some massive matchups. She came up against Sarah-Leonie Cysique (France) in the semi-final. The two competed in an engaging bout that was won when the Frenchwoman got three penalties. Cysique had already beaten Haruka Funakubo (Japan) quickly. The final was decided the same way as Huh Mi-mi (South Korea) was penalised for a false attack. She had come through a semi-final against Rafaela Silva (Brazil) where she looked stronger before getting the golden score.
🥇Christa Deguchi 🇨🇦
🥈Huh Mi-mi 🇰🇷
🥉Sarah-Leonie Cysique 🇫🇷
🥉Haruka Funakubo 🇯🇵
I had the correct finalists but did not get the result right. I mentioned Cysique as a possible medalist but not liking her draw.
Women’s -63kg
Clarisse Agbegnenou (France) was looking to retain her Olympic title as a Mum and flew through to the semi-finals, most impressively winning against Laura Fazliu (Kosovo) by ippon in the first 30 seconds. The rest of the draw was full of surprises as Joanne Van Lieshout (Netherlands) lost to Kim Ji-Su (South Korea). Katarina Kristo(Croatia) would beat her to make the semi-finals. Angelika Szymanska (Poland) had been beaten by Prisca Awiti-Alcaraz (Mexico). Andrea Leski (Slovenia) beat Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard (Canada). Leski had lost five times to Agbegnenou but changed the story in an Olympic semi-final, landing a counter waza-ari with 15 seconds to go to reach the final. Awiti-Alcaraz would land an ippon to set up a shock final. In the final, Leski would have to come from behind but would score two waza-ari’s to take a gold.
🥇Andrea Leski 🇸🇮
🥈Prisca Awiti-Alcaraz 🇲🇽
🥉Clarisse Agbegnenou 🇫🇷
🥉Laura Fazliu 🇽🇰
I didn’t even consider Awiti-Alcaraz as a real contender. Leski was someone that is obvious in hindsight given her results in recent major championships
Women’s -70kg
It was a tough early draw for Barbara Matic (Croatia) but she came through her quarter beating Kim Polling (Italy) and Ai Tsunoda (Spain). In the second quarter, Sanne Van Dijke (Netherlands) cruised through, impressively throwing Saki Niizoe (Japan). Michaela Polleres (Austria) came through the bottom quarter despite being dominated by Katie-Jemima Yeats-Brown (Great Britain). Miriam Butkereit (Germany) took advantage as Elisavet Teltsidou (Greece) was beaten by Gabriella Williams (Belgium). Butkereit would beat Polleres as she amassed three penalties to make the final. Matic would win a back-and-forth contest with Van Dijke to make the final. Matic took an early lead in the final and didn’t look back, taking gold.
🥇Barbara Matic 🇭🇷
🥈Miriam Butkereit 🇩🇪
🥉Michaela Polleres 🇦🇹
🥉Gabriella Williams 🇧🇪
I described Matic as being supreme in 2024 but still picked against her.
Women’s -78kg
Alice Bellandi (Italy) entered the competition as the favourite and was presented an early hurdle with the draw of Mayra Aguiar (Brazil). Tied two penalties apiece, Bellandi launched a ko-uchi-makikomi to go through. She would beat Patricia Sampaio (Portugal) in the semi-final after she had upset Ma Zhenzhao (China). Anna-Maria Wagner(Germany) cruised through to the semi-finals where she would come up against Inbar Lanir (Netherlands). This was the better semi-final, an exciting affair, and Lanir would win with an ippon. Two early penalties for Lanir would put Bellandi in the driver's seat and she scored a waza-ari in the final minute. A passivity penalty would confirm the gold medal for Bellandi. Sampaio would dictate the pace and win bronze win two scores. In the other, Wagner would score with thirty seconds to go only for Zhenzhao to reply with a ko-soto-gake to take the win.
🥇Alice Bellandi 🇮🇹
🥈Inbar Lanir 🇳🇱
🥉Ma Zhenzhao 🇨🇳
🥉Patricia Sampaio 🇵🇹
Again, I described Bellandi as looking very strong over the recent year. Lanir, Zhenzhao and Sampaio were all mentioned as other contenders
Women’s +78kg
Idalys Ortiz (Cuba) was also trying to win a fifth Olympic medal but lost to Milica Zabic (Serbia) in the second round. She would lose to Raz Hershko (Israel) after being thrown twice. Reigning Olympic champion Akira Sone (Japan) would lose in a golden score to Kayra Ozdemir (Turkey). Another golden score was needed for Beatriz Souza (Brazil) to defeat Kim Ha-Yun (South Korea). Romaine Dicko (France) made her way through more comfortably. However, in the semi-finals, Souza was able to throw and hold her for the victory. She would secure bronze with an ippon over Larisa Ceric (Bosnia and Herzegovina). Hershko overwhelmed Ozdemir in the other semi-final with a quick ippon. In the final, Souza got an early waza-ari. The pair would continue to attack and come close to scores but the early score was enough for Souza to take an Olympic gold.
🥇Beatriz Souza 🇧🇷
🥈Raz Hershko 🇮🇱
🥉Romane Dicko 🇫🇷
🥉Kim Ha-yun 🇰🇷
I was close here. I mentioned Ha-Yun as a contender. I picked Sone despite pointing out a poorer season
Mixed Team
The expected battle was France vs Japan and the two teams would oblige. That was despite Japan needing sudden death to overcome Spain. Japan would start the final quickly, going 2-0 up. Teddy Riner would pull a leg back but Tsunoda would take Japan a point away from victory. Joan-Benjamin Gaba was able to upset Hifumi Abe with an ippon. Agbegnenou would take it to a tie-break with a golden score and Riner was able to seal French gold. Both of the bronze medal matchups would also go to sudden death. Brazil would get the better of Italy after starting with a 2-0 lead. South Korea would go 3-1 up only to be pulled back to level before An Ba-Ul secured the bronze by reversing the result from his earlier contest.
🥇France 🇫🇷
🥈Japan 🇯🇵
🥉Brazil 🇧🇷
🥉Soutg Korea 🇰🇷
I mentioned South Korea as possible contenders, but it was Brazil who were a surprise to me as their team results had been slowly going backwards.
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