Judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport, and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally. Judo was created in 1882 by Kanō Jigorō as an eclectic martial art, distinguishing itself from its predecessors due to an emphasis on "randori" instead of kata alongside its removal of striking and weapon training elements. Judo rose to prominence for its dominance over established jujutsu schools in tournaments hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, resulting in its adoption as the department's primary martial art. A judo practitioner is called a "judoka", and the judo uniform is called "judogi".
Antonius Johannes Geesink was a Dutch 10th dan judoka. He was the first non-Japanese judoka to win gold at the World Judo Championships, a feat he accomplished in 1961 and 1965. He was also an Olympic Champion, having won gold at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Japan, and won a record 21 European Judo Championships during his career.
Ryoko Tani is a Japanese politician and retired female judoka.
Robert Van de Walle is a retired Belgian judoka. He was the first judoka to ever compete at five Olympics, from 1976 to 1992. Competing in the half-heavyweight category he won the gold medal in 1980 and a bronze in 1988 at the age of 34. Van de Walle won European titles in 1980, 1985 and 1986. Together with Ingrid Berghmans he was the face of Belgian judo in the late 1970s and 1980s. After retiring from competitions he ran a coaching company together with his wife. He was the head of the Belgian delegation at the 2004 Summer Olympics. In summer 2021, 14 years after obtaining the rank of black belt 8th dan; Van De Walle, currently a member of Judo Club Crossing Schaerbeek, accepted his promotion to 9th dan from the International Judo Federation.
The International Judo Federation (IJF) is the international governing body for judo, founded in July 1951. Today the IJF has 200 National Federations on all continents. There are over 20 million people around the globe who practice judo, according to the IJF.
David Donald Hubert Roger Douillet is a French politician and retired judoka.
Yasuhiro Yamashita is a Japanese judoka. He currently works as an instructor or advisor for numerous organizations, including Tokai University, the International Judo Federation, and the All Japan Judo Federation. He retired from competitive judo on 17 June 1985 after a remarkable career where he won five gold medals in international competitions and marked 203 consecutive victories until his retirement where he went undefeated his entire career against non-Japanese wrestlers. He received the Japanese National Prize of Honor on 9 October 1984. He is considered by many to be the greatest judoka ever.
Marc Vallot was one of several highly talented Belgian -78 kg judoka from Belgium during the 1980s and early 1990s. He probably gained more international fame though through his marriage to legendary 6-fold world champion women's judo Ingrid Berghmans.
Jan Snijders is a retired judoka from the Netherlands. Together with his twin brother Peter Snijders, Anton Geesink, Hein Essink, Tonni Wagenaar, Coos Bontje, Jan van Ierland, Martin Poglajen, Joop Gouweleeuw, Wim Ruska, Ernst Eugster, Henk Numan, Peter Adelaar, Willy Wilhelm, Anthony Wurth and Theo Meyer he belongs to the generation of Dutch top judoka which gained their successes in the 1960s and 1970s.
Morgan Martin Endicott-Davies is an Australian Olympic judo competitor. He is a multiple-time Australian and New Zealand national judo champion and international medallist in judo. He is widely known for his uchi mata, taiotoshi, and juji gatame techniques.
Hitoshi Saito was a Japanese judoka who won two consecutive gold medals at the Olympic games.
The 2007 World Judo Championships are the 25th edition of the Judo World Championships, and were held at the Rio Olympic Arena, usually called Arena Multiuso, that was built for the 2007 Pan-American Games, in Jacarepaguá, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from September 13 to September 16, 2007.
The Netherlands competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China. This was announced in an official statement on the NOC*NSF website. In the statement they named the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games as a highlight in sports to which a lot of sportspeople, coaches and the Dutch sports fans would look forward. The Netherlands aimed for a top 10 nations ranking in the Olympics as well as a top 25 ranking in the Paralympics; they ended up ranking 12th at the Games.
Frank Wieneke is a German judoka and olympic champion. He won a gold medal in the half middleweight division at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He is a member of Germany's Sports Hall of Fame.
Daria Hennadiyivna Bilodid is a Ukrainian judoka. She is a two-time world champion, a three-time European champion and won a bronze medal in the women's 48 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Bilodid is also a junior world champion (2018) and a junior European champion (2016).
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 dan black belt.
Christa Deguchi is a Japanese-born Canadian judoka. She is the reigning Olympic champion in the women's 57 kg event, after winning gold at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Her victory made her the first ever Canadian to win gold in judo at the Olympics.
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 lightweight (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.
