Judo at the Paris 2024 Olympics: Complete Results and Highlights

The judo competition at the Paris 2024 Olympics ran from July 27 to August 3, 2024 at the Champ de Mars Arena, with 372 athletes from 107 nations competing across 14 individual weight categories and the mixed team event. Fourteen new Olympic judo champions were crowned over the course of eight days. The headline story was Teddy Riner winning a record fourth Olympic gold medal in the men’s +100​kg category on home soil — a result confirmed by the Paris crowd as the defining moment of the judo program. But the results across all weight categories produced multiple national firsts, at least two defended titles, the elimination of the women’s -52​kg defending champion in a Round of 16 upset, and a mixed team final that went to a tiebreaker.

Paris 2024 Judo: Complete Medal Results by Weight Category

The complete list of gold medalists across all 14 individual weight categories at Paris 2024 reflects a broad geographic distribution with Japan leading in total medals (three individual golds) but the gold-medal spread reaching Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Canada, Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Brazil, and France. The results in full:

Men’s individual gold medalists: −60​kg: Yeldos Smetov (Kazakhstan); −66​kg: Hifumi Abe (Japan, defending champion); −73​kg: Hidayat Heydarov (Azerbaijan); −81​kg: Takanori Nagase (Japan, defending champion); −90​kg: Lasha Bekauri (Georgia, defending champion); −100​kg: Zelym Kotsoiev (Azerbaijan); +100​kg: Teddy Riner (France).

Women’s individual gold medalists: −48​kg: Natsumi Tsunoda (Japan); −52​kg: Diyora Keldiyorova (Uzbekistan); −57​kg: Christa Deguchi (Canada); −63​kg: Andreja Leški (Slovenia); −70​kg: Barbara Matić (Croatia); −78​kg: Alice Bellandi (Italy); +78​kg: Beatriz Souza (Brazil).

Mixed team gold: France (defeating Japan in the final by tiebreaker).

Japan finished with three individual golds, two silvers, and three bronzes — eight total medals, the highest national total. Azerbaijan won two golds (Heydarov and Kotsoiev), making it one of the most successful editions for Azerbaijani judo. Georgia’s Bekauri and Japan’s Nagase and Abe each defended gold medals from Tokyo, a back-to-back retention across three categories. For the context of how national medal tallies at the Olympics compare to IJF World Tour performance, Japan’s eight-medal haul tracks directly from its depth across all weight classes.

Women’s Results: First-Time Champions and National Firsts

The women’s program at Paris 2024 produced a notably diverse medal table. Diyora Keldiyorova’s gold in women’s -52​kg was the first Olympic gold medal for a woman from Uzbekistan in judo — and she earned it by defeating defending champion Uta Abe (Japan) in the Round of 16, then beating Amandine Buchard (France) in the semifinals and Distria Krasniqi (Kosovo) in the final. Christa Deguchi’s gold in women’s -57​kg was Canada’s first Olympic judo gold in that category; Deguchi, a double World Champion, had qualified for Tokyo 2020 but missed the Games and arrived in Paris as the top seed. Andreja Leški gave Slovenia its first Olympic judo gold medal in the women’s -63​kg. Barbara Matić won Croatia’s gold in women’s -70​kg. The diversity of the women’s medal table — gold medals distributed across Uzbekistan, Canada, Slovenia, Croatia, Italy, Brazil, and Japan — reflects the development of women’s judo that has continued since its 1992 Olympic introduction.

Teddy Riner’s Record Fourth Gold — The Biggest Story of Paris 2024 Judo

Teddy Riner’s gold in men’s +100​kg at Paris 2024 is the defining result of the judo program. Competing at age 35 on home soil, Riner defeated world No. 1 Kim Minjong of South Korea in the final with a harai-goshi that produced the winning ippon with 16 seconds remaining in the four-minute bout. The gold was Riner’s fourth Olympic gold medal — the most of any judoka in Olympic history across any weight category — and his sixth Olympic medal overall. His individual Olympic golds now span four Games: London 2012 (+100​kg), Rio 2016 (+100​kg), Paris 2024 (+100​kg), plus the mixed team gold at Tokyo 2020. On the day of his individual victory, French President Emmanuel Macron was present at the Champ de Mars Arena and went to congratulate Riner on the mat. The significance extends beyond the result: Riner’s win at 35 makes him one of the oldest individual Olympic gold medalists in combat sports history, a fact consistent with the research findings on career longevity in heavyweight judo. He then competed in the mixed team event and added a fifth Olympic gold as part of France’s team that defeated Japan in the final.

Back-to-Back Champions: Nagase and Bekauri

Two other athletes defended Olympic gold from Tokyo 2020 at Paris 2024. Takanori Nagase (Japan) retained his men’s -81​kg title, becoming only the second Japanese man to win back-to-back Olympic judo gold in the same weight category. Lasha Bekauri (Georgia) retained his men’s -90​kg gold in what was one of the most competitive individual draws at Paris — Georgia’s -90​kg tradition making Bekauri a marked target for every opponent in the bracket. Both defenses confirmed that their Tokyo 2020 victories were not one-time results: each athlete carried the weight of a four-year target on their back and won anyway. Hifumi Abe’s men’s -66​kg gold was also a title defense — he had won at Tokyo 2020 — making three weight categories where the defending Olympic champion successfully retained. For context on when judoka typically reach their competitive peak, back-to-back Olympic gold across different ages illustrates that the peak window varies significantly by individual and category.

The Mixed Team Final: France Defends Olympic Title Against Japan

The mixed team final at Paris 2024 was contested between France and Japan — the same pairing as the Tokyo 2020 final, which France had won. The Paris final went to a tiebreaker, a format where a single match between team representatives decides the result after a drawn series. France won the tiebreaker to defend the mixed team Olympic title, giving Teddy Riner his fifth Olympic gold in the process. The mixed team event format, introduced at Tokyo 2020, was retained at Paris 2024 and has become one of the most watched days of the Olympic judo program: the structure of mixed-gender national team competition creates different tactical and athlete-selection dynamics than individual draws, and produces final-day drama that concentrates national rivalry into a single decisive match sequence. The format’s success at two consecutive Games confirmed its place in the Olympic judo program going forward. For a full explanation of how the mixed team judo event works, the selection criteria and match format are covered separately.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won judo gold at Paris 2024 Olympics?

The 14 individual gold medalists at Paris 2024 were: Men — Yeldos Smetov (KAZ, -60 kg), Hifumi Abe (JPN, -66 kg), Hidayat Heydarov (AZE, -73 kg), Takanori Nagase (JPN, -81 kg), Lasha Bekauri (GEO, -90 kg), Zelym Kotsoiev (AZE, -100 kg), Teddy Riner (FRA, +100 kg). Women — Natsumi Tsunoda (JPN, -48 kg), Diyora Keldiyorova (UZB, -52 kg), Christa Deguchi (CAN, -57 kg), Andreja Leški (SLO, -63 kg), Barbara Matić (CRO, -70 kg), Alice Bellandi (ITA, -78 kg), Beatriz Souza (BRA, +78 kg). France won the mixed team gold.

What record did Teddy Riner set at Paris 2024?

Teddy Riner won his fourth Olympic gold medal in the men’s +100 kg category at Paris 2024 — the most Olympic gold medals won by any judoka in history. He defeated world No. 1 Kim Minjong of South Korea with an ippon 16 seconds from the end of the bout. He then won a fifth gold medal as part of France’s mixed team, which defeated Japan in the final.

Which defending champions won back-to-back gold at Paris 2024?

Three men defended their Tokyo 2020 Olympic gold medals at Paris 2024: Hifumi Abe (Japan, -66 kg), Takanori Nagase (Japan, -81 kg), and Lasha Bekauri (Georgia, -90 kg). France also defended the mixed team gold from Tokyo 2020, winning the Paris 2024 final against Japan by tiebreaker.

What was the biggest upset at judo Paris 2024?

The highest-profile upset was Diyora Keldiyorova (Uzbekistan) defeating Uta Abe (Japan) in the women’s -52 kg Round of 16. Abe had not lost an individual bout in five years before the match. Keldiyorova went on to win the gold medal — giving Uzbekistan its first-ever women’s Olympic judo gold.

How many countries participated in judo at Paris 2024?

372 athletes from 107 nations competed in judo at the Paris 2024 Olympics across 14 individual weight categories and the mixed team event. Japan led the medal table with eight total medals (3 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze). 26 nations won at least one medal across all judo events.