Olympic Champion Takanori Nagase is one of 8 seeded players in Tokyo

Tokyo 2021 Olympic champion Takanori Nagase is for sure one of the favourites to win the gold medal at the Grand Slam in Tokyo in December. He is among the 8 seeded players although judofans don’t see him too often in the IJF World Tour. The IJF spoke to the Olympic Champion about his period after his title and how it all started to win the gold medal in Tokyo in 2021.

“I don’t know if it’s a special or unique quality but I had a lot of passion for judo since the very beginning, when I first started practising judo. I think it’s also not special to say this but I never wanted to lose. Those two elements combined pushing me to train hard and consistently take the small steps needed towards becoming Olympic champion.

I think everybody has the passion and everyone doesn’t want to lose so I considered it important to think systematically on top of those factors. I began to think of my competition day in Tokyo as day 0 and I planned backwards to ensure I was in the best shape by doing each correct thing at the correct time before that day.

My family also plays a big role in my life and looking back at 2017, before qualification began for the Tokyo Games, I was dealing with a big knee injury and they were a really important support then. They are with me through good and bad days. It was a really long journey with them, so performing well for my family was always a big motivating factor for me.

My character and values didn’t change once I became Olympic champion but I gained confidence in my plan and that transfers to other areas of my life. I take that confidence forwards towards the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”

In Tokyo Nagase might face the number one seed Mathias Casse as both number one and eight are in the same pool at the Grand Slam. If both players reach the quarter final, they will likely meet. This could be a repetition of the Olympic semi final where Nagase won that battle, but Casse becomes stronger and stronger and Japan is not anymore the best nation in this weight class. Current World Champion Tato Grigalashvili won't compete in Tokyo though but this class will have plenty of surprises at the Grand Slam. At 2 December on the first day, we will see them in action.

Profile Takanori Nagase

Takanori Nagase became Olympic Champion at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Nagase won Olympic bronze in Rio 2016. Nagase was world champion in 2015 and claimed a bronze medal at the Worlds in Tashkent in 2022 and in 2023 in Doha. Nagase claimed silver last year at the Grand Slam in Tokyo in 2022. In 2013, 2014 and 2016 he won the Grand Slam in Tokyo. Nagase won the Grand Slam in Brasilia and Osaka in 2019. In total he won six Grand Slams and two Grand Prix events.