Judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics

While the individual events again did not change, like other sports an additional team event was contested. After 2016, the International Judo Federation shortened the men’s bouts from five to four minutes following the respective change in women’s events prior to the Rio Olympics. There were also minor changes in the judging. Altogether 393 athletes competed in the seven weight classes. The number of male (200) and female (193) athletes was almost equal, reflecting the IOC’s aim of gender equality. The fields in individual events fluctuated between 34 (in half-middleweight, men) and 23 competitors (in extra-lightweight and heavyweight, men). The number of NOCs involved dropped slightly from 136 to 129. The venue was the legendary Nippon Budōkan, a martial arts hall in the Chiyoda district of Tokyo, erected for the first ever Olympic judo competition at the 1964 Games.

Only the host country Japan was entitled to one quota place in each weight class; all other athletes had the chance to qualify via the world rankings of the International Judo Federation as of June 28, 2021, with the top 18 athletes in each class qualifying directly, but just one entry per country. In addition, there were continental qualification places, and 20 quota places awarded by wildcard. To qualify for the mixed team competition, a team had to provide at least one athlete in defined weight classes. Only Japan and Korea had 14 athletes competing, followed by a number of countries with 13 (Brazil, Germany, France and ROC).

In Tokyo, considerably fewer countries (17) collected medals than five years earlier in Rio (27). It came as no surprise that Japan by far was the most successful nation with nine gold, two silver and one bronze. Like 2016, only three countries had a medal count exceeding three: in addition to Japan, France (2-3-3) and Georgia (1-3-0). Georgia was one of the climbers in the medal table, while the United States dropped out completely. Kosovo confirmed its position as a power, particularly in women’s Judo, with two gold medals after the country’s first ever (gold) medal in 2016. The country only appeared in 2016 and 2020 winning three medals, all gold, and all in women’s Judo.