Takanori Nagase Beats Grigalashvili for Judo Gold; First Man Ever to Win Back-to-Back Olympic 81-Kilogram Titles (UPDATE 1)

The Yomiuri Shimbun

5:24 JST, July 31, 2024 (updated at 13:25 JST)

PARIS — Takanori Nagase retained the title in the men’s judo 81-kilogram division at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday, defeated Tato Grigalashvili of Georgia, ranked second in the world, by ippon in the final.

Nagase, 30, became the first man ever to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the men’s 81-kilogram division.

Grigalashvili, 24, had previously won three consecutive world championships. Nagase scored a waza-ari near the halfway point, then scored a perfect ippon victory with about a minute remaining.

Nagase, who is ranked 8th in the world, had not won an international competition since taking the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. However, he was showing signs of a comeback, winning the Antalya Grand Slam 2024 in Turkey in March.

This was third Olympics for Nagase, and the gold was his third medal, including a bronze medal in Rio; it was his fourth if the silver earned by the mixed team he was on at the Tokyo Olympics is included.

Nagase racked up five wins on the day. In his first match, he beat world No. 66 Alain Aprahamian of Uruguay by Ippon, and in his second match he overcame world No. 11 Vedat Albayrak of Turkey after overtime to advance to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, he defeated world No. 1 Matthias Casse of Belgium in overtime. In the semifinals, he beat Antonio Esposito of Italy by Ippon.