TOKYO, December 9, 2024 - That's it, the 2024 judo season is over. It ended in the most beautiful way in Japan, with the conclusion of the Tokyo Grand Slam 2024. In front of a large crowd, the last seven categories competed for the final WJT gold medals at stake. While the host country once again dominated the competition, the distribution of medals was varied.
Who better than two great champions to explain such a high level of judo in Japan? Takanori Nagase, world champion and triple Olympic medallist, including two titles, and Hifumi Abe, quadruple world champion and double Olympic champion, answered our questions.
For both judoka, it is clear, "There is a real culture of beautiful judo and technique in Japan from a very young age. The foundations are strong and maintained throughout life. When we reach the international level, we are as physically strong as all the other athletes and we can make a difference with our technical and philosophical values."
These technical and philosophical aspects that Nagase and Abe talk about were perfectly illustrated a few minutes before the start of the final block, with the All Japan Judo Federation awards that were presented in the centre of the tatami. Great champions and champions-in-the-making were thus honoured, as well as personalities who have allowed judo to shine for many years. Among the recipients, we will remember the presence of Akiko Amano, who was an international referee and who now joins the IJF supervisors’ team.
Akiko Amano was also back in the centre of the tatami a few minutes later to referee one of the Judo Kids exhibition contests between 12-year-old Tomitada Yanagi and Takanori Nagase. Earlier, the audience had been able to support the performance of Kiito Kobayashi, age 12, and Natsumi Tsunoda, three-time world champion and Paris 2024 Olympic champion. It was all about inspiration, joy and passion for judo from a very young age.
Throughout the weekend, we heard the greatest champions explain how important it was for them to give everything back to judo that they had received. This was the case today in Tokyo.
We can now close the magnificent book of this 2024 season that has kept us on the edge of our seats for the past twelve months. It was beautiful and spectacular. It gave us a lot of emotions. In the coming weeks, we will look back on the most significant moments of 2024. In the meantime, thank you all for following us on all our platforms, for encouraging all your champions and for continuing to promote the values of judo on the five continents. Long live judo!
