Judo

The founder of judo, Dr. Jigaro Kano, was a long-time member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Judo is a form of wrestling that was developed by Dr. Kano from the ancient Japanese schools of yawara and jujitsu. He founded his first dojo (judo school) in 1882, termed the Kodokan. The contestants are termed judoka and are classified into grades, consisting of pupils (Kyu) and degrees (Dan). There are five classes of Kyu, advancing to first Kyu, and wearing a brown belt. Thereafter, the judoka achieves a Dan, beginning with first Dan (black belt) and advancing theoretically to 12th Dan (white belt). Fighting ability and technical knowledge advance a judoka to fifth Dan, after which advancement depends on service to the sport. Leading international judoka are usually fourth or fifth Dan. The 11th and 12th Dan have never been awarded.

Judo made its first Olympic appearance at Tokyo 1964, but was not included on the programme of the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico. Judo returned to the Olympic fold in München 1972, and the 1992 Barcelona Olympics included judo events for women for the first time. A mixed team event would later début at Tokyo 2020. The sport, not surprisingly, has been dominated by Japan, followed by France and South Korea.

Judo has also been a part of the Youth Summer Olympics programme since the competition’s inception, at Singapore 2010, with events for boys and girls.

The sport is governed internationally by the International Judo Federation (IJF), which was formed on 11 July 1951, in London, England, with eight founding members: Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. As of January 2026, the IJF has 205 members.

Through 2024, the top male Olympic judo medalist has been French Teddy Riner, with five golds, followed by the Japanese Tadahiro Nomura, with three gold medals. Riner is also the male judoka with more Olympic medals, with a total of seven, followed by Japan’s Takanori Nagase, with five.

In the women’s tournament, France’s Clarisse Agbegnenou leads the gold medal count, with three golds, followed by nine judokas with two Olympic titles (four of them also from France). Agbegnenou also leads the female overall medal count, with five medals, the same number as Japan’s Ryoko Tamura-Tani (two golds).