Tokyo Grand Slam: A spectacular finale for the 2024 season of the International Judo Federation

The Japanese judokas dominated the last Grand Slam of the year, winning 13 out of the 14 gold medals in the competition.

Transcript

00:00Welcome back to Tokyo, the final stop of the 2024 IJF World Judo Tour.

00:07As the crowds poured into the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, there was a special treat for the young fans in attendance,

00:15as two of them got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go head-to-head with two Olympic champions,

00:22Sanudo Natsumi and Nagase Takanori.

00:25In the medal matches, the under-81 kilogram category saw Fujiwara Sotaro get Japan off to the perfect start.

00:33Mr. Vlad Marinescu, IJF Director General, was on hand to award the medals.

00:39At under 70 kilograms, Mayu Honda left it until deep into golden score to throw her compatriot for Ippon.

00:46She was awarded her medal by Olympic champion Mr. Kosei Inoue.

00:51I was able to hear the loud cheers and voices of my fans and supporters.

00:59I was so happy that I was able to win and show that I won to my supporters.

01:04At under 90 kilograms, an excellent Wazari from Sanchiro Murao saw him claim the title and in the hopes of Georgia's Luka Maisuradze.

01:15Mr. Almaz Alsenov, Harvest Group CEO, awarded the gold.

01:21I'm very happy that we get positive reactions. Judo, as you know, originated in Japan

01:29and it's important that our judokas spread this wonderful sport to the rest of the world.

01:36At under 78 kilograms, Kurena Ikeda took the win with some brilliant groundwork.

01:42The medals were awarded by IJF Sports Director, Mr. Skanda Hashisha.

01:48At under 100 kilograms, Matvei Kanivkovski cleverly armlocked Italy's Pirelli to take the Tokyo title.

01:55He was awarded the gold medal by the Japanese national team.

02:01In the over 78 kilogram category, Mao Arai was imperious, a hold down for gold.

02:07She was awarded her medal by Mr. Silvio Acacio Borges, president of Brazilian Judo.

02:13In the over 100 kilograms, it was Kanta Nakano who eventually came out on top with this gold medal.

02:22He was awarded the gold by Mr. Shin Koyamada, Guardian Girls International CEO.

02:28What an event it has been to bring 2024 to a close, encapsulating all that is Judo.

02:34Action, drama, respect, discipline and friendship.

02:37Thank you, Tokyo. We'll be back in two weeks.

02:51for more fantastic Judo action.