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Tokyo Champ Aaron Wolf triumphs at Paris Judo, Moves Closer to Olympic Berth

AFP-Jiji
Japan’s Aaron Wolf, in blue, throws Spain’s Nikoloz Sherazadishvili in the men’s 100-kilogram final at the Paris Grand Slam on Sunday.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:55 JST, February 5, 2024

PARIS — Tokyo Olympic judo champion Aaron Wolf won the men’s 100-kilogram title at the Paris Grand Slam on Sunday, moving him closer to filling Japan’s berth in that weight class at the Paris Olympics

The 27-year-old Wolf, who has struggled since winning the gold at the Tokyo Games in 2021, defeated two-time 90kg world champion Nikoloz Sherazadishvili of Spain in the final.

The 100-kilogram division is the lone one in which the Japan Judo Federation has not selected the entry for the Paris Olympics. Wolf’s main rival, teenager Dota Arai, lost in the third round.

Wolf won all six of his matches on the day without having to go to extra time once, including a victory by waza-ari with an inner thigh throw in the final over Sherazadishvili.

Meanwhile, French star Teddy Riner, who will be looking to add a Paris gold to his Olympic titles from London 2012 and Rio 2016, captured the over-100-kilogram gold.