The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad and officially branded as Seoul 1988, were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represented at the games by a total of 8,391 athletes. 237 events were held and 27,221 volunteers helped to prepare the Olympics.
The 2004 Summer Paralympics, the 12th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Athens, Greece from 17 to 28 September 2004. 3,808 athletes from 136 countries participated. During these games 304 World Records were broken with 448 Paralympic Games Records being broken across 19 different sports. 8,863 volunteers worked along the Organizing Committee.
The judo competition at the 1964 Summer Olympics was the first time the sport was included in the Summer Olympic Games. As a result, decades of judo being officially banned as an "imperialist sport" in the Soviet Union ended shortly before the Games started, as Soviet authorities prioritized winning medals over anything else. The medals were awarded in 4 classes, and competition was restricted to men only. The competition was held in the Nippon Budokan, which was built to host the competition.
The Judo competition at the 1972 Summer Olympics was the return of the sport following its absence at the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Medals were awarded in six weight classes, and competition was restricted to men only. Among the highlights was Wim Ruska of the Netherlands winning gold medals in both the heavyweight and open class competition, becoming the first judoka to win two Olympic gold medals.
At the judo competition at the 1976 Summer Olympics, medals were awarded in five weight classes and in the open competition, and was restricted to male judoka only.
Para Judo in the 2004 Summer Paralympics was competed by blind or vision-impaired judokas. The only classification was by body weight. The contests were staged in the Ano Liossia Olympic Hall.
Volleyball has been part of the Summer Olympics program for both men and women consistently since 1964.
The Judo competition at the 1984 Summer Olympics continued the seven weight classes first used at the 1980 Games. With the open division, there were eight competitions. Powerhouse Japan returned to the top of the medal count after eight years, having boycotted the Moscow games. Because of the Soviet-led boycott of the Los Angeles games, several traditionally strong judo countries, including Cuba and the Soviet Union, did not participate. The Judo competition was held at California State University, Los Angeles.
The 1958 Asian Games, officially the Third Asian Games and commonly known as Tokyo 1958, was a multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 May to 1 June 1958. It was governed by the Asian Games Federation. A total of 1,820 athletes representing 20 Asian National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in the Games. The program featured competitions in 13 different sports encompassing 97 events, including four non-Olympic sports, judo, table tennis, tennis and volleyball. Four of these competition sports – field hockey, table tennis, tennis and volleyball – were introduced for the first time in the Asian Games.
The Judo competition at the 1992 Summer Olympics was contested in fourteen weight classes, seven each for men and women. The seven men's weight classes continued to be those first used in 1980. This was the first Olympic competition to award medals to women judoka; women competed in 1988 when women's judo was a demonstration sport.
Judo was first included in the Summer Olympic Games at the 1964 Games in Tokyo, Japan. 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, when women's judo was organized as a demonstration sport. Women judoka were first awarded medals at the 1992 Summer Olympics.
Taekwondo made its first appearance at the Olympics as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. The opening ceremony featured a mass demonstration of taekwondo, with hundreds of adults and children performing moves in unison. Taekwondo was again a demonstration sport at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Taekwondo became a full medal sport at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, and has been a sport in the Olympic games since then.
Kim Jae-bum (김재범) is a retired South Korean judoka. Despite being plagued with injuries throughout his career, Kim is known for dominating major competitions at the half-middleweight category (81 kg)—particularly between his Olympic debut in 2008 and his 2012 Olympic finals rematch against Ole Bischof.
The Para Judo competition of the 2008 Summer Paralympics was held in Beijing Workers' Gymnasium from September 7 to September 9. There were 13 events, corresponding to seven weight classes for men and six for women. At the Paralympics, judo is contested by visually impaired athletes.
Wrestling at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place from 14 to 21 August at the Carioca Arena 2 in Barra da Tijuca. Wrestling had been split into two disciplines, freestyle and Greco-Roman, which were further divided into different weight categories. Men competed in both disciplines whereas women only participated in the freestyle events, with 18 gold medals awarded. Wrestling had been contested at every modern Summer Olympic Games, except Paris 1900.
Judo was a sport at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and featured around 393 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.
The weightlifting competition at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo took place from 24 July to 4 August 2021 at the Tokyo International Forum.
Lee Bok-hee is a South Korean judoka, who competed in the women's half-middleweight category. She won fourteen medals in her career, including a silver in the 2001 East Asian Games in Osaka, Japan, achieved fifth-place finishes at the 2003 World Judo Championships, and represented her nation South Korea in the 63-kg class at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Michaela Polleres is an Austrian judoka. In 2021, she won the silver medal in the women's 70 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. She won bronze at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France. Polleres is also a bronze medalist at the 2021 and 2023 World Championships and the 2018 European Championships. She is a third degree black belt.
