Antoine Valois-Fortier is a Canadian retired judoka who won the bronze medal in the −81 kg category at the 2012 Olympics, becoming the first Canadian to win a medal in Olympic judo in twelve years and the fifth to win one in Canadian history.
The Japanese martial art and combat sport judo has been practised in Canada for over a century. The first long-term judo dojo in Canada, Tai Iku Dojo, was established by a Japanese immigrant named Shigetaka "Steve" Sasaki in Vancouver in 1924. Sasaki and his students opened several branch schools in British Columbia and even trained RCMP officers until 1942, when Japanese Canadians were expelled from the Pacific coast and either interned or forced to move elsewhere in Canada due to fears that they were a threat to the country after Japan entered the Second World War. When the war was over, the government gave interned Japanese Canadians two options: resettle in Canada outside of the 'Japanese exclusion zone' or emigrate to Japan.
Naohisa Takato is a Japanese judoka.
Judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo featured around 393, 128 judoka competing in 15 events, seven each for both men and women as well as a new mixed team event. The 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the judo competitions were held in July 2021 at Nippon Budokan.
Kiyomi Watanabe is a Japanese-Filipino judoka who has represented the Philippines in international competitions including the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Katarzyna Juszczak married Schillaci is a retired amateur Polish-born Italian judoka and freestyle wrestler, who competed in the women's heavyweight category. She achieved top eight finishes in the 72-kg division at the World Championships, and also participated in two editions of the Olympic Games under different banners.
Sagi Aharon Muki is an Israeli Olympic and former world champion half-middleweight judoka. Muki is the 2019 World Champion. He also won the 2015 and 2018 European championships. In the mixed team event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Muki was a member of the Israeli team that won the bronze medal.
Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard is a Canadian judoka who competes in the women's 63 kg category. Beauchemin-Pinard won a bronze medal in the 63 kg weight class at the 2020 Summer Olympics, making her the second Canadian woman to win a medal in judo at the Summer Olympics. She has been ranked in the top 10 of the world in her weight category.
Arthur Margelidon is a Canadian judoka who competes in the men's 73 kg category.
Daria Hennadiyivna Bilodid is a Ukrainian judoka. She is the 2019 World and the 2019 European gold medalist in the 48 kg division. In 2021, she won one of the bronze medals in the women's 48 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. She is also the 2024 European gold medalist in the 57 kg division.
Amandine Buchard is a French judoka. She represented France at the 2020 Summer Olympics winning the silver medal in the half lightweight event and a gold medal in the mixed team event. She is a third degree black belt.
Canada competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the nation's debut in 1900, Canadian athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, with the exception of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of the country's support for United States-led boycott.
A total of 393, 128 athletes could qualify for judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics. The 2020 Olympics were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Each NOC could enter a maximum of 14 judokas. Host nation Japan has reserved a spot in each of all 14 events, while twenty are made available to NOCs through a Tripartite Commission Invitation.
Jessica Klimkait is a Canadian Judoka who competes in the women's 57 kg category. In 2021 she became Canada's second judo world champion, defeating Momo Tamaoki of Japan in the women's lightfoot (57 kg) final at the championships in Budapest, Hungary; the win also qualified her for the Tokyo Olympic Games. She won one of the bronze medals in the women's 57 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Priscilla Gagné is a partially blind Canadian judoka. She won a silver medal at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Inbar Lanir is an Israeli Olympic judoka and 2023 world champion. She competes in the under 78 kg weight category. In addition to winning the 2023 world championship, she won gold medals at the 2023 World Masters and 2023 Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam. Lanir will represent Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in judo in the women's 78 kg on 1 August 2024, and in the mixed team event.
Raz Hershko is an Israeli European champion and Olympic judoka. She was the 2015 European U18 Champion, the 2017 European U23 championships silver medalist, and won a bronze medal in the 2023 world championships. She competed for Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal in mixed team. She is the 2024 European Champion. Hershko will represent Israel at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris in judo in the women's +78 kg on 2 August 2024, and in the mixed team event.
Kiribati competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, it was postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The country's participation in Tokyo marked its fifth appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut in 2004.
Duncan Vignale is a Canadian judoka who has played a significant role in the development of judo in Canada and especially Ontario. He has held several important positions such as President of Judo Ontario and Vice-President of Judo Canada, coached the Ontario judo team, and served as a kata judge for the International Judo Federation. He won the Syl Apps Special Achievement Award in 2011, was made a Lifetime Member of Judo Ontario in 2013, and is one of just seventeen Canadian judoka to achieve the rank of hachidan. Vignale was also selected as an alternate to Doug Rogers for the 1964 Summer Olympics.
Judo competitions at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are scheduled to run from 27 July to 3 August at Grand Palais Éphémère in Champ de Mars. The number of judokas competing across fourteen different weight categories at these Games has been reduced from 393 in Tokyo 2020 to 372, with an equal distribution between men and women.
Canada 