On the sixth day of the Paris Olympics on the 31st, Sanshiro Murao (23) of the JES Group, who competed in the men’s 90kg judo competition, lost to Tokyo Olympic champion Rasha Bekauri (Georgia) in the final, but won the silver medal in his debut. This is the first medal for Japan in the same weight class in two Olympics.

Born in New York, his mother is from the United States, he honed his orthodox judo skills, including the uchimata throw technique, at powerhouses such as Toin Gakuen High School in Kanagawa and Tokai University.

Last year’s world championship winner in the women’s 70kg class, Saki Nisozoe (SDF), lost by a strong margin to Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist Van Dijk (Netherlands) in the quarterfinals, and also lost to Tsunoda (Spain) in the repechage. This ended Japan’s chances of winning three consecutive titles in this class, and they missed out on a medal for the first time in three tournaments.