| | Event type
Extra-Lightweight (≤60 kilograms), Men
| Date | 1 August 1980 — 10:00-19:00 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Dvorets sporta, Tsentralny stadion imeni V. I. Lenina, Moskva | |
| Participants | 29 from 29 countries | |
| Format | Two single-elimination pools, with winner of each pool advanced to the final. All judoka losing to the winner of each pool advanced to repêchage pools, with the winners of the repêchage pools earning bronze medals. | |
Thierry Rey (FRA) had won the 1979 World Championships and was slightly favored, particularly because of the absence of 1980 European Champion, Italian Felice Mariani, a victim of the boycott. Rey had competed at the Europeans, but lost early to Austria’s Pepi Reiter. In the early rounds, the best fighter appeared to be an unheralded Cuban, José Rodríguez, who won his first two matches in a total of 30 seconds. He again won by ippon in the pool final, this time in 51 seconds over Hungarian Tibor Kincses. Rey came thru the other pool with no major difficulty but without the flair of Rodríguez. The final was somewhat disappointing. Rey countered Rodríguez’s attacking style and won with a koka via a kosoto-gari counter to win the gold medal.
Pool A (1 August 1980)
Round One (1 August 1980)
| Match #1 | José Rodríguez |  CUB | Waza-ari-wasete Ippon (2:37) | Naji Keyrouz |  LBN |
| Match #2 | Samir El-Najjar |  SYR | Ippon (0:19) | Charles Chibwe |  ZAM |
| Match #3 | John Holliday |  GBR | Yuko (5:00) | Alberto Francini |  SMR |
| Match #4 | Spyros Spyrou |  CYP | Yusei-gachi (5:00) | Mamodaly Ashikhoussen |  MAD |
| Match #5 | Luiz Shinohara |  BRA | Waza-ari (5:00) | Boubacar Sow |  SEN |
| Match #6 | Tibor Kincses |  HUN | Ippon (3:19) | Ali Heidar Ali Mohamed |  KUW |
| Match #7 | Ko Hyong |  PRK | Yuko (5:00) | Rafael González |  MEX |
Quarter-Finals (1 August 1980)
| Match #1 | José Rodríguez | CUB | Ippon (0:11) | Samir El-Najjar | SYR |
| Match #2 | John Holliday | GBR | Ippon (2:28) | Spyros Spyrou | CYP |
| Match #3 | Tibor Kincses | HUN | Waza-ari/Keikoku (5:00) | Luiz Shinohara | BRA |
| Match #4 | Ko Hyong | PRK | Waza-ari (5:00) | Ronny Sanabria |  CRC |
Semi-Finals (1 August 1980)
| Match #1 | José Rodríguez | CUB | Ippon (1:35) | John Holliday | GBR |
| Match #2 | Tibor Kincses | HUN | Yusei-gachi (5:00) | Ko Hyong | PRK |
Final Round (1 August 1980)
| Match #1 | José Rodríguez | CUB | Ippon (0:51) | Tibor Kincses | HUN |
Repêchage (1 August 1980)
| Match #1 | Samir El-Najjar | SYR | Ippon (3:42) | Naji Keyrouz | LBN |
| Match #2 | John Holliday | GBR | Waza-ari-wasete Ippon (5:00) | Samir El-Najjar | SYR |
| Match 3/4 | Tibor Kincses | HUN | Waza-ari/Keikoku (7:00) | John Holliday | GBR |
Pool B (1 August 1980)
Round One (1 August 1980)
| Match #1 | Thierry Rey |  FRA | Yuko (5:00) | Reino Fagerlund |  FIN |
| Match #2 | João Paulo Mendonça |  POR | Waza-ari (5:00) | Marian Donat |  POL |
| Match #3 | Pavel Petřikov |  TCH | Ippon (1:16) | Ibrahim Camara |  GUI |
| Match #4 | Aramby Yemizh |  URS | Kata-guruma/Ippon (1:16) | Pepi Reiter |  AUT |
| Match #5 | Ahmed Moussa |  ALG | Ippon (1:08) | Habib Sissoko |  MLI |
| Match #6 | Reinhard Arndt |  GDR | Koka (5:00) | Arpad Szabo |  ROU |
Quarter-Finals (1 August 1980)
| Match #1 | Thierry Rey | FRA | Tate-shiho-gatame/Ippon (4:21) | João Paulo Mendonça | POR |
| Match #2 | Pavel Petřikov | TCH | Koka (5:00) | Marcel Burkhard |  SUI |
| Match #3 | Aramby Yemizh | URS | Koka/Shido (5:00) | Ahmed Moussa | ALG |
| Match #4 | Yanjmaagiin Dorj |  MGL | Yuko (5:00) | Reinhard Arndt | GDR |
Semi-Finals (1 August 1980)
| Match #1 | Thierry Rey | FRA | Yuko (5:00) | Pavel Petřikov | TCH |
| Match #2 | Aramby Yemizh | URS | Koka (5:00) | Yanjmaagiin Dorj | MGL |
Final Round (1 August 1980)
| Match #1 | Thierry Rey | FRA | Yuko (5:00) | Aramby Yemizh | URS |
Repêchage (1 August 1980)
| Match #1 | Reino Fagerlund | FIN | Koka (5:00) | João Paulo Mendonça | POR |
| Match #2 | Pavel Petřikov | TCH | Waza-ari (5:00) | Reino Fagerlund | FIN |
| Match 3/4 | Aramby Yemizh | URS | Waza-ari-wasete Ippon (4:18) | Pavel Petřikov | TCH |
Final Round (1 August 1980)
| Match 1/2 | Thierry Rey | FRA | Koka (7:00) | José Rodríguez | CUB |