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| Event type

Half-Lightweight (≤66 kilograms), Men

Date15 August 2004
StatusOlympic
LocationOlympiako Gymnastirio Ano Liosion, Ano Liossia
Participants31 from 31 countries
FormatTwo 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.

The last two World Championships had been won by Iran’s Arash Miresmaeili. But at the weigh-in he was two full kilograms over the class limit, and was disqualified. The Iranian News Agency quoted Miresmaeli as saying he had done this deliberately, rather than face his first-round opponent, Israel’s Ehud Vaks. On his return home, Miresmaeli was given $125,000, the amount given to Iranian gold medal winners, and a ticket to visit Mecca. The Iranian state news agency IRNA quoted then Iranian President Mohammad Khatami as saying, “Miresmaeili’s actions would be recorded in the history of Iranian glories.” Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, then the mayor of Tehran, and later Iran’s President, said that although Miresmaeili “did not get a gold medal, he earned eternal honor by his refusal.” The International Judo Federation investigated this incident, but strangely, when they did so, Miresmaeli claimed he had made no such statements and no sanction was given. Miresmaeli did compete at the 2008 Olympic Games, after winning bronze medals at the 2005 and 2007 World Championships, but finished only =9th.

In his absence there was no favorite in Athina and no real story to the competition. Japan’s Masato Uchishiba, who had won at the World University Games in 2001, won the gold medal. In 2008 he would return to defend his gold medal, after winning a silver at the 2005 Worlds. In February 2013 Uchishiba was convicted of raping a student he had been coaching. The incident occurred in 2011 and Uchishiba maintained that it was consensual sex, but the court ruled that he had assaulted her while she was alseep and he was sentenced to five years in prison.

PosCompetitor(s)NOC
1Masato UchishibaJPNGold
2DoDo KrnáčSVKSilver
=3Georgi GeorgievBULBronze
=3Yordanis ArencibiaCUBBronze
=5Óscar PeñasESP
=5Davit MargoshviliGEO
=7João PinaPOR
=7Jorge LencinaARG
ACAbdou Alassane Dji BoNIG
ACBang Gwi-ManKOR
ACLarbi BenboudaoudFRA
ACGantömöriin DashdavaaMGL
ACBektaş DemirelTUR
ACMagomed DzhafarovRUS
ACHenrique GuimarãesBRA
ACElçin Mehdi İsmayılovAZE
ACJuan Carlos JacintoDOM
ACMurat KalikulovUZB
ACMuratbek KipshakbayevKAZ
ACMelvin MéndezPUR
ACAmar MeridjaALG
ACMiloš MijalkovićSCG
ACAmeen Mohamed El-HadyEGY
ACMusa NastuievUKR
ACLudwing OrtizVEN
ACAlex OttianoUSA
ACJuan José PazBOL
ACMiklós UngváriHUN
ACEhud VaksISR
ACGeorgios VazagkasviliGRE
ACHeath YoungAUS

Pool A (15 August 2004)

Round One (15 August 2004)

Match #1 Yordanis ArencibiaCUB
Waza-ari/Sode-tsuri-komi-goshi (5:00)
Ludwing OrtizVEN
Match #2 Heath YoungAUS
Waza-ari/Kuchiki-taoshi (5:00)
Juan José PazBOL
Match #3 Miklós UngváriHUN
Ippon/Uchi-mata (3:18)
Elçin Mehdi İsmayılovAZE
Match #4 João PinaPOR
Ippon/Koshi-guruma (4:57)
Musa NastuievUKR
Match #5 Óscar PeñasESP
Ippon/Kuchiki-taoshi (5:00/0:09) Golden Score
Melvin MéndezPUR
Match #6 DoDo KrnáčSVK
Waza-ari awasete Ippon/Kusure-kami-shiho-gatame (1:33)
Abdou Alassane Dji BoNIG
Match #7 Amar MeridjaALG
Ippon/Sumi-gaeshi (1:29)
Ameen Mohamed El-HadyEGY
Match #8 Ehud VaksISR bye

Quarter-Finals (15 August 2004)

Match #1 Yordanis ArencibiaCUB
Ippon/Seoi-nage (0:43)
Heath YoungAUS
Match #2 João PinaPOR
Yuko/Kata-guruma (5:00)
Miklós UngváriHUN
Match #3 DoDo KrnáčSVK
Ippon/Sumi-gaeshi (1:17)
Óscar PeñasESP
Match #4 Amar MeridjaALG
Yuko/O-uchi-gari (5:00)
Ehud VaksISR

Semi-Finals (15 August 2004)

Match #1 Yordanis ArencibiaCUB
Ippon/Sode-tsuri-komi-goshi (1:28)
João PinaPOR
Match #2 DoDo KrnáčSVK
Ippon/Tate-shiho-gatame (1:19)
Amar MeridjaALG

Final Round (15 August 2004)

Match #1 DoDo KrnáčSVK
Ippon/Ko-uchi-gaeshi (5:00)
Yordanis ArencibiaCUB

Repêchage (15 August 2004)

Match #1 Ludwing OrtizVEN
Ippon/Kusure-kami-shiho-gatame (1:10)
Heath YoungAUS
Match #2 Óscar PeñasESP
Yuko (2)/Kuchiki-taoshi (4:14)
Abdou Alassane Dji BoNIG
Match #3 João PinaPOR
Yuko (3)/Kata-guruma (5:00)
Ludwing OrtizVEN
Match #4 Óscar PeñasESP
Yuko (2)/Seoi-nage (5:00)
Amar MeridjaALG
Match #5 Óscar PeñasESP
Yuko/Seoi-nage (5:00)
João PinaPOR
Match 3/4 Georgi GeorgievBUL
Koka/Uchi-mata (5:00/1:04) Golden Score
Óscar PeñasESP

Pool B (15 August 2004)

Round One (15 August 2004)

Match #1 Magomed DzhafarovRUS
Yuko/Kuchiki-taoshi (5:00)
Alex OttianoUSA
Match #2 Henrique GuimarãesBRA
Ippon/O-uchi-gari (2:21)
Bang Gwi-ManKOR
Match #3 Gantömöriin DashdavaaMGL
Waza-ari/Hold-Same-Side (5:00)
Georgios VazagkasviliGRE
Match #4 Masato UchishibaJPN
Ippon/Uchi-mata (1:55)
Jorge LencinaARG
Match #5 Muratbek KipshakbayevKAZ
Waza-ari/Sukui-nage (5:00/1:46) Golden Score
Juan Carlos JacintoDOM
Match #6 Miloš MijalkovićSCG
Waza-ari/Obi-tori-gaeshi (5:00)
Murat KalikulovUZB
Match #7 Bektaş DemirelTUR
Ippon/Tani-otoshi (2:52)
Larbi BenboudaoudFRA
Match #8 Georgi GeorgievBUL
Ippon/Ko-uchi-gari (2:55)
Davit MargoshviliGEO

Quarter-Finals (15 August 2004)

Match #1 Magomed DzhafarovRUS
Waza-ari/Kuchiki-taoshi (5:00)
Henrique GuimarãesBRA
Match #2 Masato UchishibaJPN
Ippon/Tomoe-nage (2:00)
Gantömöriin DashdavaaMGL
Match #3 Muratbek KipshakbayevKAZ
Koka (2)/Moro-te-gari (5:00)
Miloš MijalkovićSCG
Match #4 Georgi GeorgievBUL
Ippon/Kata-guruma (4:25)
Bektaş DemirelTUR

Semi-Finals (15 August 2004)

Match #1 Masato UchishibaJPN
Ippon/Sode-tsuri-komi-goshi (1:40)
Magomed DzhafarovRUS
Match #2 Georgi GeorgievBUL
Waza-ari/Go-Outside-Contest-Area (5:00)
Muratbek KipshakbayevKAZ

Final Round (15 August 2004)

Match #1 Masato UchishibaJPN
Ippon/Kata-guruma (0:43)
Georgi GeorgievBUL

Repêchage (15 August 2004)

Match #1 Jorge LencinaARG
Ippon/Kuchiki-taoshi (4:27)
Gantömöriin DashdavaaMGL
Match #2 Davit MargoshviliGEO
Waza-ari/Moro-te-gari (5:00)
Bektaş DemirelTUR
Match #3 Jorge LencinaARG
Ippon/Okuri-eri-jime (2:38)
Magomed DzhafarovRUS
Match #4 Davit MargoshviliGEO
Yuko/Non-Combativity (5:00)
Muratbek KipshakbayevKAZ
Match #5 Davit MargoshviliGEO
Ippon/Obi-tori-gaeshi (0:44)
Jorge LencinaARG
Match 3/4 Yordanis ArencibiaCUB
Waza-ari awasete Ippon/Kata-guruma (0:25)
Davit MargoshviliGEO

Final Round (15 August 2004)

Match 1/2 Masato UchishibaJPN
Ippon/Sumi-otoshi (1:46)
DoDo KrnáčSVK