Japan wins one gold medal after another. At the 2021 Olympics, the host country is more successful than it has been in a long time.
Tokyo – With currently 17 gold medals, Japan ranks third on the medals at the 2021 Olympics. Right behind China and the US. Nine of these 17 gold medals alone come from judo competitions. The judokas from Japan also caught up with silver and bronze. There are now 33 medals on the plus side of Japan. And that despite the fact that the Japanese Olympic Committee had withdrawn the target of 30 medals due to the corona pandemic shortly before the Games.
The 17 gold medals are a new record for the host country, according to The Japan Times portal. Never before has Japan won so many gold medals at the Summer Olympics. And there has never been nine gold medals in judo either.
With the end of the judo competitions, of course, the question arises whether the rain of medals is slowly running dry. But that cannot be assumed for the time being. Basically, the Japanese athletes had to struggle with far fewer logistical challenges than all the other participants. The entry rules set up because of the corona pandemic only affected local athletes to a limited extent.
Japan expects more medals at the 2021 Olympics
Of course, Japan is known for its great strength in judo. But especially in the new Olympic disciplines of skateboard street and softball, first places went to Japan again. Swimmer Yui Ohashi clarifies her view of the medal winners. She is of the opinion that everyone contributes something to this amount of medals. She really feels inspired, the Japan Times quoted her as saying.
But there were not only successes in the first week of the 2021 Olympics. Kento Momota was eliminated early in badminton and Naomi Osaka had to leave the tennis tournament after the third round. Both are among the best in the world in their sport. But in Japan you don’t stop counting. Medals are still expected in, among other things, karate and sport climbing. (Pia Ewald)
