ACOG - Judo - IBM

Olympic Judo Overview

When David fought Goliath, he wouldn't have needed that slingshot if he'd studied judo. There was a time when only a competitor's skill, not strength, was thought to determine the outcome of these contests of will and strategy. Only in the past 30 or so years have weightclasses given greater structure to the competitive art, which for some judokans is a whole way of life.

Many were opposed to adopting the "lean equals mean attitude" commonly associated with wrestling, for fear it would jeopardize the artistic component of the sport. Some in the fold still de-emphasize the weightclass policy, perhaps for good reason. A case in point: lightweight (71 kg) James Pedro had been struggling to drop down to the 65kg half-lightweight class. After giving up, he actually jumped up to 78kg (half-middleweight) and significantly improved his performance.

Not everyone is drawn to judo for its art and skill. Quite a few people approach the martial arts with the idea of learning self-defense, only to discover a more wholistic application to the deeper philosophy these arts employ. Few are smaller than Ryoko TAMURA (1.44 m / 4 ft 8.5 in). She took up the sport because, according to one source, she wanted to "throw the boys around," and discovered she could throw almost anyone. At only 19 years, she already can claim a 70-plus winning streak that includes beating four-time world champion Karen Briggs of Great Britain.

If that seems an impressive winning streak, Yasuhiro YAMASHITA's of Japan was legendary. YAMASHITA was undefeated in the open class for eight years of international competition, which he topped off by fulfilling his quest for an Olympic gold in 1984. An inspiration for judokas everywhere, YAMASHITA will be on more than one Olympian's mind as they step onto the mat in Atlanta and make their own bid to bring home their own Olympic gold.

This is an official publication of The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games Sports Publications Department.Written by Jennifer Knight and Dianna Drayson.


Olympic Factoid
The volunteer staff of the 1996 Olympic Games totaled 50,152. They worked an estimated 850,000 shifts.