| | Event type
Half-Heavyweight (≤72 kilograms), Women
| Date | 21 July 1996 | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Olympic | |
| Location | Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, Georgia (Hall H) | |
| Participants | 21 from 21 countries | |
| Format | Two single-elimination pools, with winner of each pool advanced to the final. All judoka losing to the finalists in each pool advanced to repêchage pools, with the winners of the repêchage pools earning bronze medals. | |
Ulla Werbrouck had followed Ingrid Berghmans as Belgium’s best female judoka. Her record at the European Championships was particularly distinguished. She competed in that event from 1989-2001 and won six gold medals and 12 medals in all, failing only in 1996. Coming into Atlanta she had been the silver medalist at the 1995 World Championships, losing the final to Cuba’s Diadenys Luña. In the Atlanta final, Werbrouck faced Yoko Tanabe of Japan, who had won a bronze medal at the 1995 Worlds, with Werbrouck winning by ippon. This was the first Olympic gold medal won by a Belgian woman.
| Pos | Competitor(s) | NOC | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ulla Werbrouck |  BEL | Gold | ||
| 2 | Yoko Tanabe |  JPN | Silver | ||
| =3 | Ylenia Scapin |  ITA | Bronze | ||
| =3 | Diadenis Luna |  CUB | Bronze | ||
| =5 | Tetiana Beliaieva |  UKR | |||
| =5 | Estha Essombe |  FRA | |||
| =7 | Hannah Ertel |  GER | |||
| =7 | Svetlana Galyant |  RUS | |||
| =9 | Simona Richter |  ROU | |||
| =9 | Cristina Curto |  ESP | |||
| =9 | Kate Howey |  GBR | |||
| =9 | Francis Gómez |  VEN | |||
| =13 | Michele St. Louis |  MRI | |||
| =13 | Niki Jenkins |  CAN | |||
| =15 | Leng Chunhui |  CHN | |||
| =15 | Olesya Nazarenko |  TKM | |||
| =15 | Karin Kienhuis |  NED | |||
| =15 | Natalie Galea |  AUS | |||
| =19 | Chen Chiu-Ping |  TPE | |||
| =19 | Sandy Bacher |  USA | |||
| =19 | Yevgeniya Bogunova |  KAZ |
Pool A (21 July 1996)
Round One (21 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Leng Chunhui | CHN | Waza-ari-wasete Ippon/Yoko-shiho-gatame (4:00) | Chen Chiu-Ping | TPE |
| Match #2 | Tetiana Beliaieva | UKR | Ippon/Soto-makikomi (0:29) | Michele St. Louis | MRI |
| Match #3 | Cristina Curto | ESP | Yuko/Uchi-mata-gaeshi (4:00) | Yevgeniya Bogunova | KAZ |
Quarter-Finals (21 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Ylenia Scapin | ITA | Yuko/O-uchi-gaeshi (4:00) | Leng Chunhui | CHN |
| Match #2 | Tetiana Beliaieva | UKR | Shido/Defensive-Posture (4:00) | Simona Richter | ROU |
| Match #3 | Ulla Werbrouck | BEL | Shido/Defensive-Posture (4:00) | Svetlana Galyant | RUS |
| Match #4 | Cristina Curto | ESP | Yuko/Ashi-garami (4:00) | Olesya Nazarenko | TKM |
Semi-Finals (21 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Tetiana Beliaieva | UKR | Chui/Go-Outside-Contest-Area (4:00) | Ylenia Scapin | ITA |
| Match #2 | Ulla Werbrouck | BEL | Ippon/Kusure-yoko-shiho-gatame (3:07) | Cristina Curto | ESP |
Final Round (21 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Ulla Werbrouck | BEL | Ippon/Uchi-mata (0:26) | Tetiana Beliaieva | UKR |
Repêchage (21 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Simona Richter | ROU | Ippon/Tate-shiho-gatame (2:23) | Michele St. Louis | MRI |
| Match #2 | Ylenia Scapin | ITA | Ippon/Harai-goshi (1:35) | Simona Richter | ROU |
| Match #3 | Svetlana Galyant | RUS | Ippon/Seoi-nage (3:18) | Cristina Curto | ESP |
| Match #4 | Ylenia Scapin | ITA | Yusei-gachi (4:00) | Svetlana Galyant | RUS |
| Match 3/4 | Ylenia Scapin | ITA | Ippon/O-soto-gari (2:01) | Estha Essombe | FRA |
Pool B (21 July 1996)
Round One (21 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Hannah Ertel | GER | Ippon/Juji-gatame (3:39) | Sandy Bacher | USA |
| Match #2 | Estha Essombe | FRA | Waza-ari-wasete Ippon/O-uchi-gari (3:16) | Niki Jenkins | CAN |
Quarter-Finals (21 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Kate Howey | GBR | Yuko/Kata-garami (4:00) | Karin Kienhuis | NED |
| Match #2 | Yoko Tanabe | JPN | Ippon/Uchi-mata (1:28) | Hannah Ertel | GER |
| Match #3 | Estha Essombe | FRA | Shido/False-Attack (4:00) | Diadenis Luna | CUB |
| Match #4 | Francis Gómez | VEN | Yusei-gachi (4:00) | Natalie Galea | AUS |
Semi-Finals (21 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Yoko Tanabe | JPN | Ippon/Uchi-mata (2:27) | Kate Howey | GBR |
| Match #2 | Estha Essombe | FRA | Waza-ari-wasete Ippon/Harai-goshi (0:55) | Francis Gómez | VEN |
Final Round (21 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Yoko Tanabe | JPN | Chui/Non-Combativity (4:00) | Estha Essombe | FRA |
Repêchage (21 July 1996)
| Match #1 | Hannah Ertel | GER | Shido/Non-Combativity (4:00) | Kate Howey | GBR |
| Match #2 | Diadenis Luna | CUB | Ippon/Seoi-nage (0:14) | Niki Jenkins | CAN |
| Match #3 | Diadenis Luna | CUB | Keikoku/Non-Combativity (4:00) | Francis Gómez | VEN |
| Match #4 | Diadenis Luna | CUB | Waza-ari-wasete Ippon/Kusure-kami-shiho-gatame (2:32) | Hannah Ertel | GER |
| Match 3/4 | Diadenis Luna | CUB | Yusei-gachi (4:00) | Tetiana Beliaieva | UKR |
Final Round (21 July 1996)
| Match 1/2 | Ulla Werbrouck | BEL | Ippon/Uchi-mata-sukashi (3:58) | Yoko Tanabe | JPN |