The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union from 19 July to 3 August. A total of 5,179 athletes representing 80 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) participated in 203 events in 22 sports. They were the first Games to be staged in a communist nation.
The Judo competition at the 1984 Summer Olympics continued the seven weight classes first used at the 1980 Games. With the open division, there were eight competitions. Japan returned to the top of the medal count, after boycotting the Moscow games. Because of the Soviet-led boycott of the Los Angeles games, several traditionally strong judo countries, including Cuba and the Soviet Union, did not participate. The Judo competition was held at California State University, Los Angeles.
The Judo competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics continued the seven weight classes first used at the 1980 Games. The open division was eliminated from the competition. Women's judo made its first appearance at the Olympic Games, as a demonstration sport. Japan failed to claim the top of the medal count for the first time in an Olympics in which they participated, coming in third behind South Korea and Poland.
Libya competed at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. The country's participation in Sydney marked its sixth appearance at a Summer Olympics since its debut at the 1964 Games. The delegation included three male athletes; marathon runner Adel Edeli, judoka Tarek Ayad and Nizar Mohamed Naeeli in taekwondo. Edeli did not finish his race, while Ayad and Naeeli were both eliminated in the first bouts of their respective tournaments.
Michael Lee Swain is one of the most successful American judoka. He competed in countless international competitions. He is now the VP of Martial Arts at Dollamur, Sports LP where he develops and sells Martial Arts equipment and continues to be a spokesperson and board member for USA Judo.
The World Judo Championships are the highest level of international judo competition, along with the Olympic judo competition. The championships are held once every year by the International Judo Federation, and qualified judoka compete in their respective categories as representatives of their home countries. Team competitions have also been held since 1994. The men's championships began in 1956, though the format and periodicity of the championships have changed over time. The last edition of the championships took place in Doha, Qatar in 2023.
An Kum-ae is a North Korean judoka.
Israel has competed at the Olympic Games as a nation since 1952. Its National Olympic Committee was formed in 1933, during the British Mandate of Palestine. Israel has sent a team to each Summer Olympic Games since 1952, and to each Winter Olympic Games since 1994. The country became a member of the European Olympic Committees (EOC) in 1994.
Dietmar Lorenz was an East German judoka, who competed for SC Dynamo Hoppegarten under the Sportvereinigung Dynamo.
Albania first participated at the Summer Olympic Games in 1972. They missed the next four games, three of them for political reasons due to the 1980 Summer Olympics boycott, 1984 Summer Olympics boycott and 1988 boycotts, but returned for the Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics. They have appeared in all games since then. They made their Winter Olympic Games debut in 2006. Albania normally competes in events that include swimming, athletics, weightlifting, shooting, and wrestling. The country has not yet won any Olympic medal. Along with Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Malta and Monaco, Albania is one of five current European participants that have never won an Olympic medal. They have been represented by the Albanian National Olympic Committee since 1972.
Djibouti has participated in nine Summer Olympic Games as of the completion of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. They have never competed in the Winter Olympic Games. Djibouti debuted at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, United States of America with three athletes, but did not take home a medal. The highest number of Djiboutian athletes participating in a summer Games is eight in the 1992 games in Barcelona, Spain. Only one Djiboutian athlete has ever won a medal at the Olympics, marathon runner Hussein Ahmed Salah, who won a bronze medal in the 1988 marathon.
Islam El Shehaby is an Egyptian former judoka.
Aurélio Fernández Miguel is a Brazilian judoka and Olympic champion, and later politician. Among his best sporting achievements are his gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, and a bronze medal at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
Thierry Rey is a French judoka, world and olympic champion. He won a gold medal in the extra lightweight (–60 kg) division at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. He is the father of Martin Rey-Chirac, as a result of a relation with Claude Chirac, a daughter of late president Jacques Chirac.
Angelo Parisi is a French judoka and olympic champion. He won a gold medal in the heavyweight division at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. At his Olympic debut in 1972 he represented Great Britain. Parisi holds the 8th dan degree.
Jürg Röthlisberger is a Swiss judoka and olympic champion. He won a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.
Marie Muller is a Luxembourger judoka.
Or "Ori" Sasson is a retired Israeli Olympic judoka. He won a bronze medal in the +100 kg category at the 2016 Summer Olympics and another one at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He is the second of two Israelis to win two Olympic medals.
Gili Cohen is an Israeli retired Olympic judoka. In 2013, she won the silver medal at the European U23 Championships, and she was a bronze medalist at the 2014 European Judo Championships. She competed for Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
The Mixed team competition in judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo was held on 31 July 2021 at the Nippon Budokan.
