Natsumi Tsunoda Wins Gold as Predicted and Considers Moving to Mixed Martial Arts

The judo competitions at the ongoing Paris Olympics have come to an end. Japan lost to the host country, France, in the mixed team competition on the final day, but won the silver medal. Japan won a total of three gold medals, two silver medals, and three bronze medals in the individual and team competitions.

Of these, the only woman to win a gold medal was Natsumi Tsunoda (32) in the 48-kilogram weight class on the first day of the judo competition on July 27 (Japan Standard Time, hereafter the same). She became the oldest woman in the history of Japanese judo at 31 years and 11 months old to win a gold medal at the Olympics, and the first in the same weight class in 20 years since Ryoko Tani (48) in Athens in 2004. On the same 28th, the media reported how Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (67) called to congratulate her.

In addition, in the mixed team competition final against France, she came in fourth. In the final of the mixed team competition against France, he came in fourth and won by ippon with his signature move, the tomoe nage, against a competitor in the 57-kilogram weight class, two weight classes higher than himself.

He had won the World Championships in the same weight class three times in a row from 2009, when the Tokyo Olympics were held, to last year. “I had won the World Championships in the same weight class three times in a row from 2009, when the Tokyo Olympics were held, until last year, so it was a gold medal as expected. However, I have not always followed the elite course of judo, and this time I dropped one weight class to compete in the Olympics because of the presence of Abe Uta (24), who was expected to win a second consecutive gold medal in the 52-kilogram weight class.

In addition to judo training, he studied and researched Brazilian jiu-jitsu, the Russian martial art of sambo, and grappling, a kumitei martial art in which one does not wear street clothes, and established a unique style of aiming for ippon through newaza from the Tomoe nage (巴投げ). He is a hard worker who finally won a gold medal at the Olympics,” said a reporter in charge of Olympic competitions for a sports newspaper.