www.judoinside.com 30/06
How Kaori Matsumoto saved the day for Japan 10 years ago
In 1988, Japan had faced a near disaster when one champion after another failed to win gold. It was only on the last day of the judo competition that the country that gave the world judo managed to get the gold, through Hitoshi Saito. In 2012, there were twice as many gold medals in contention as women’s judo had become part of the Olympic program (in 1988, women’s judo was only a demonstration sport).