(25 July 1996; Day 6)
QUELLMALZ reached the Olympic pinnacle in the men's division after having scored four straight ippons; he waltzed past Francis FIGUERO (DOM), Israel HERNANDEZ (CUB) and Michel ARMEIDA of Portugal to reach the semifinals. His next match versus Belgium's Phillip LATTS became another tune-up for his final bout with Yukimasa NAKUAMURA (JPN). The championship match was decided with QUELLMALZ's fifth ippon of the day -- another sign that the European judo movement has arrived on the world stage.
NAKAMURA reached the finals by battling past Islam MATSIEV (RUS), Purevdorj NYAMHAGVA (MGL), Ivan NETOV (BUL) to set up his semifinal bout with Jozsef CSAK of Hungary. The Olympic gold medalist was relentness in his repeated attacks and executed his techniques brilliantly for the win.
Henrique GUIMARES of Brazil and Jozsef CSAK of Hungary claimed the bronze.
France, for the third time in these Centennial Olympic Games, was honored with a position on the top step of the victory stand -- this time, in the form of Marie RESTOUX. The 1995 World Champion is now an Olympic gold medalist, thanks to her systematic march through the women's 52kg bouts. Sailing past Catherine Brain of Australia, she faced a stiffer challenge in her match with the USA's Marisa PEDULLA. PEDULLA battled the champion to the 4-minute time limit, after which the decision of the judges favored RESTOUX. RESTOUX regained momentum and controlled her match with Larysa KRAUSE of Poland from start to finish.
The gold medal bout with HYUN Sook-Hee of Korea was a great display, with each competitor showing many diverse techniques of this ancient sport, spiced up with the more modern kicks and throws that are becoming commonplace among European competitors. Noriko SUGAWARA of Japan and Legna VERDECIA (CUB) were awarded the bronze medals.
This is an official publication of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department. Written by Bill Painter.
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| The volunteer staff of the 1996 Olympic Games totaled 50,152. They worked an estimated 850,000 shifts. |