Half-Lightweight (≤65 kilograms), Men

The class was considered fairly open, with Germanys Udo Quellmalz a slight favorite. He was the 1991 World Champion and runner-up in 1989. In the B pool final, Quellmalz met Brazil’s Rogério Cardoso, who had little international record. But Cardoso was fighting with a purpose. His brother, Ricardo Cardoso, had competed at the 1988 Olympics. But after a disappointing love affair, Ricardo had committed suicide in 1991, and Rogério was dedicating his Olympic performance to his brother’s memory. The match against Quellmalz was tight, and Cardoso only won it on penalties, with Quellmalz having an extra chui. In the final Cardoso met Hungarian veteran József Csák, the 1986 European Champion, and a three-time medalist at the Europeans. The match went to the time limit with Cardoso winning the gold medal for his brother’s memory, using o-soto-gari for waza-ari.