Tokyo.- It was 1964 when it was the turn of Japan and specifically to the city of Tokio to host the Olympic Gamesa moment that became extra special with the debut of the national sport, the Judo, in the olympic competition, but things were not as expected for an entire nation.
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As expected, one of the local heroes, Akio Kaminaga, came to fight for the gold medal in the final of the open category, and against all odds the arena fell silent when the Dutchman Anton Geesink He defeated the Japanese and took the medal from a country that had won everything.
With everything against, the Dutch was planted in hostile terrain to make history and despite how complicated the route was, it became a banner of the Judo, so much so that it was the first gold medal in the category.
For its part, the local and main rival to beat was Akio Kaminagasince the Japanese, in addition to playing at home, would come from the country with the greatest representation and exposure of this martial art, since three of the four most prominent competitors were from the host venue.
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72 wrestlers from 27 countries participated, divided into four categories. Three of the four golds went to Japan and they hoped to close with the flag flying high on four occasions, but at the end of the day a man would cut off the incontestable dominance of the locals.
The venue that hosted the tests was Nippon Budokan. The hosts fulfilled the predictions in the weight categories with victories of Takehide Nakatani (light), Isao Okano (medium) e Isao Inokuma (heavy), but they could not take the gold in the open category because the Dutch Anton Geesink I had other plans.
Geesink would make their way to a final against with a fireplace, the favorite of the fans and the experts, however, the Dutchman consecrated his revenge, since eight years ago in the World Cup Judo held in the same city he had to settle for third place.
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The multiple European champion did not let himself be intimidated and it was during a tough match where both demonstrated their strength and technique with maximum tension, since the slightest mistake would cost them the gold. And so it was when With a fireplace He made a small jump to the side to get into a better position, Geesink He caught it in the air with his leg, locking it, thus causing the knockdown and locking it in a lock, which gave him the gold in the category. Open del Judo in his Olympic debut, beating the local and favorite.
After the displays of emotion from his coaches, Geesink He demonstrated incredible fortitude and Olympic respect towards his rival, because with a gesture of his hand he asked to delay the celebration, since first he had to greet with a fireplace, thus winning the applause of an audience that remained completely silent in the arena after losing the Olympic gold.
2024-03-23 19:40:05
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