World Judo Championships

History Of 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 year (except the years when the Olympics take place) 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 first edition of the world championships took place in Tokyo, Japan in 1956. There were no weight classes at the time and Japanese judoka Shokichi Natsui became the first world champion in history, defeating fellow countryman Yoshihiko 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.
  
• The 1965 World Judo Championships were held in Rio 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 an Olympic sport at the 1964 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, and a permanent sport after a brief absence at the 1968 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 in New York in 1980, and were held in alternating years as the men's championships until the 1987 World Judo Championships in Essen, where the two competitions were merged into one world championship. 
  
• In 2005, the world championships made its debut on the African continent in Cairo, Egypt.
  
• In the International Judo Federation meeting held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2007 (during the 2007 World Judo Championships), it was decided that France would host the world championships for the fifth time in 2011.
  

World Judo Championships Archieve

Men's competitions:

Men

1979

• -60 kg-Thierry Rey
  
• -65 kg-Nikolai Solodukhin
  
• -71 kg-Kiyoto Katsuki
  
• -78 kg-Shozo Fujii
  
• -86 kg-Detlef Ultsch
  
• -95 kg-Tengiz Khubuluri
  
• +95 kg-Yasuhiro Yamashita
  
• Open-Sumio Endo
  

1981

• -60 kg-Yasuhiko Moriwaki
  
• -65 kg-Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki
  
• -71 kg-Park Chong-Hak
  
• -78 kg-Neil Adams
  
• -86 kg-Bernard Tchoullouyan
  
• -95 kg-Tengiz Khubuluri
  
• +95 kg-Yasuhiro Yamashita
  
• Open-Yasuhiro Yamashita
  

1983

• -60 kg-Khazret Tletseri
  
• -65 kg-Nikolai Solodukhin
  
• -71 kg-Hidetoshi Nakanishi
  
• -78 kg-Nobutoshi Hikage
  
• -86 kg-Detlef Ultsch
  
• -95 kg-Andreas Preschel
  
• +95 kg-Yasuhiro Yamashita
  
• Open-Hitoshi Saito
  

 1985

• -60 kg-Shinji Hosokawa
  
• -65 kg-Yury Sokolov
  
• -71 kg-Ahn Byeong-Keun
  
• -78 kg-Nobutoshi Hikage
  
• -86 kg-Austria Peter Seisenbacher
  
• -95 kg-Hitoshi Sugai
  
• +95 kg-Cho Yong-Chul
  
• Open-Yoshimi Masaki
  

Women's competitions:

1982 

• -48 kg-Karen Briggs
  
• -52 kg-Loretta Doyle
  
• -56 kg-Béatrice Rodriguez
  
• -61 kg-Martine Rottier
  
• -66 kg-Brigitte Deydier
  
• -72 kg-Barbara Classen
  
• +72 kg-Nathalie Lupino
  
• Open-Ingrid Berghmans
  

1984

• -48 kg-Karen Briggs
  
• -52 kg-Kaori Yamaguchi
  
• -56 kg-AnnMaria Burns
  
• -61 kg-Venezuela Natasha Hernandez
  
• -66 kg-Brigitte Deydier
  
• -72 kg-Ingrid Berghmans
  
• +72 kg-Maria Theresa Motta
  
• Open-Ingrid Berghmans
  

1986

• -48 kg-Karen Briggs
  
• -52 kg-Dominique Brun
  
• -56 kg-Ann Hughes
  
• -61 kg-Diane Bell
  
• -66 kg-Brigitte Deydier
  
• -72 kg-Irene de Kok
  
• +72 kg-Gao Fenglian
  
• Open-Ingrid Berghmans