Half-Middleweight (≤70 kilograms), Men

Vladimir Nevzorov (URS) had begun his sporting career as a wrestler, like many judoka, but by 1976 was a heavy favorite to win gold in Montréal in judo. He had won the 1975 World and European Championships. Japan’s representative in the class was Koji Kuramoto, bronze medalist at the 1975 Worlds. There were no surprises as these two made it to the final, with Nevzorov winning all his early bouts by ippon. The final was not close, although Kuramoto survived for the duration. But Nevzorov was the top judoka in Montréal and thoroughly dominated his Japanese foe. This ended Nevzorov’s short, but meteoric, career. He never again competed internationally.