Japanese judoka Nagase Takanori has won his second straight gold medal in the men’s 81-kilogram category at the Paris Olympics. He earned his first at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
Nagase faced three-time world champion Tato Grigalashvili of Georgia in the final on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old defending champion first scored a waza-ari with the “Tani-otoshi” throwing technique and continued attacking his opponent. And less than a minute later, he again executed the same technique to decisively end the bout by ippon.
Nagase won all the five bouts without allowing his opponents to win any waza points.
South Korea’s Lee Joonhwan and Tajikistan’s Somon Makhmadbekov won the bronze.
With the victory, Nagase became the first man ever to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the 81-kilogram category. He has medaled in three consecutive Olympics, starting with a bronze at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
With Nagase’s gold on Tuesday, the Japanese men’s judo team has won medals for four straight days.