- World Judo Championships
The World Judo Championships are the highest level of international
judo competition, along with the Olympic judo competition. The championships are held once every two years by theInternational Judo Federation , and qualified judoka compete in their respective categories as representatives of their home countries. Team competitions have also been held since1994 . The men's championships began in1956 , though the format and periodicity of the championships have changed overtime. The 26th edition of the championships will take place inRotterdam ,Netherlands in2009 .History
The first edition of the world championships took place in
Tokyo ,Japan in1956 . There were no weight classes at the time and Japanese judokaShokichi Natsui became the first world champion in history, defeating fellow countrymanYoshihiko Yoshimatsu in the final. The second world championship was also held in Tokyo two years later, with the Japanese winning the top two spots in the competition for the second time. In1961 , the championship was held outside of Japan for the first time, and Dutch judokaAnton Geesink defeated the prior world champion,Koji Sone , inParis ,France , to become the first non-Japanese world champion.The
1965 World Judo Championships were held inRio de Janeiro ,Brazil , and weight classes were implemented for the first time with the addition of the -68 kg, -80 kg, and +80 kg categories. Judo had become anOlympic sport at the1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, and a permanent sport after a brief absence at the1968 Summer Olympics .Despite this progressive enlargement, it took until
1980 for women to participate in the world championships. The first women's world championships were held inNew York in 1980, and were held in alternating years as the men's championships until the1987 World Judo Championships inEssen , where the two competitions were merged into one world championship. The mixed championships have been held biannually since 1987. In2005 , the world championships made its debut on theAfrica n continent inCairo ,Egypt . In theInternational Judo Federation meeting held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2007 (during the2007 World Judo Championships ), it was decided that France would host the world championships for the fifth time in2011 .Weight classes
There are currently 16 tournaments in the world championships, with 8 weight classes for each gender.
Women's competitions
Team competition
The World Judo Championships team competition began in 1994, and was held once every four years until 2006. The competition will be held every year from 2007. Judoka who participate in the individual world championships often do not participate in the team competition.
Video footage
* [http://www.judovision.org/?cat=86 World Championships 2007] in
Rio de Janeiro
* [http://www.judovision.org/?cat=8 World Championships 2005] inCairo
* [http://www.judovision.org/?cat=21 World Championships 2003] inOsaka
* [http://www.judovision.org/?cat=6 World Championships 2001] inMunich
* [http://www.judovision.org/?cat=15 World Championships 1999] inBirmingham
* [http://www.judovision.org/?cat=13 World Championships 1997] inParis
* [http://www.judovision.org/?cat=12 World Championships 1995] in Chiba
* [http://www.judovision.org/?cat=67 World Championships 1993] in Hamilton
* [http://www.judovision.org/?cat=37 World Championships 1991] inBarcelona
* [http://www.judovision.org/?cat=106 World Championships 1989] inBelgrade
* [http://www.judo-snijders.nl/video-judo-wedstrijd-wereldkamp/video-essen-1987-judo-e.html World Championships 1987] inEssen
* [http://www.judovision.org/?cat=122 World Championships 1983] inMoscow
* [http://www.judovision.org/?cat=38 World Championships 1981] inMaastricht
* [http://www.judo-snijders.nl/video-judo-wedstrijd-wereldkamp/video-paris-1961-judo-e.html World Championships 1961] inParis
* [http://www.judo-snijders.nl/video-judo-wedstrijd-wereldkamp/video-tokyo-1956-judo-e.html World Championships 1956] inTokyo Notes
External links
* [http://www.ijf.org/ International Judo Federation official website]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.