On the sixth day of the Paris Olympics, in the men’s 90 kg judo final (1st Japan time, Champ de Mars Arena), Sanshiro Murao (23) of the JES Group lost by a single match to Rasha Bekauri (24) of Georgia, who won the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Although he was unable to reach the top, he won the silver medal in his first appearance.

After the match, he shed tears and said, “I’m really disappointed. I was prepared to win no matter what the situation, so I fought with confidence. It’s tough to lose and not get the gold medal, and I’m left with regrets.”

Murao Sanshiro Born August 28th, 2000 (Heisei 12), 23 years old. His father is Japanese and his mother is American. He was born in New York State, USA. He spent his first two years there before moving to Japan. He started judo at the age of five. He went to Himeji Nada Junior High School in Hyogo, Toin Gakuen High School in Kanagawa, and Tokai University before joining the JES Group. He placed second in the 2018 World Junior Championships, and third in the 2011 World Championships. His specialties are uchimata and o-soto-gari. His parents chose the name Sanshiro to express their wish that he would grow up to be a true Japanese. He is 181 cm tall.