Top 12 greatest judo players of all time ranked: Find out who is on the list

Who are the greatest judo players of all time? The sport is renowned for its spectacular throwing approaches, and a player must have high muscle mass, low-fat content, and high strength. Judokas have gained a great deal of respect in the community due to judo's widespread popularity around the world.

Judo began in Japan in 1882. The sport is primarily played in competitive tournaments and has gained worldwide acclaim. The greatest judo fighters of all time have engraved their names in the halls of sports history.

Top 12 greatest Judo players of all time

Brazilian jiu-jitsu and sambo are two offshoots of judo that have become a global phenomenon in sports and martial arts. The person who practises this art is called a judoka. So, who is the greatest of all time?

12. Satoshi Ishii

He is a famous judo fighter born in Japan and has had Croatian citizenship since 2019. Ishii represented Japan and won two All-Japan Championships in addition to the Olympic gold medal at the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008 and a silver medal at the Asian Games in 2006.

Ishii, who has a record of 26-13-1 (20th January 2023), made his professional MMA debut at Dynamite!! 2009, where he lost to fellow star gold medalist Hidehiko Yoshida by a unanimous decision. Ishii has a contract with Professional Fighters League and has been a professional mixed martial artist since 2009, competing for Bellator and Rizin Fighting Federation. He is the heavyweight champion of both the HEAT and SBC organisations.

11. Kyuzo Mifune

Despite Mifune's lack of accolades and accomplishments, he has significantly impacted the sport. He has been hailed as one of the most outstanding practitioners of the judo art, after its creator, Kanō Jigorō.

He was allegedly irredeemable as a child, always getting into mischief or organising others to do the same. Mifune's father, a strict disciplinarian who eventually gave up on the youngest of his seven children, enrolled the boy in a junior high school in Sendai, northern Japan when he was 13 years old. The young Mifune learned about the sport there and decided to dedicate his life to it.

10. Hitoshi Saito

The Japanese star Hitoshi Saito won two straight gold medals at the Olympics. Additionally, he received numerous gold medals in various weight classes, including heavy and open weight.

After retiring, Hitoshi became a teacher at Kokushikhan University and the All Japan Judo Federation. He led the Japanese team at the Summer Olympics in 2004. One of the top 10 judokas of all time, he received the Order of Rising Sun Award in 2015 when he passed away.

9. Wim Ruska

Willem "Wim" Ruska was a martial art star from the Netherlands. During his active judo career, Ruska won five European titles in the 93 kg category and two more in the open category. He won the World Championship in 1967 and 1971.

He is one of the best fighters in the world and the first to win two gold medals in judo at the same Olympics, in the heavyweight and absolute divisions, in 1972. He was inducted into the International Judo Federation Hall of Fame in 2013 and is regarded as one of the greatest players in history. After he retired from the sport after the 1972 Olympics, he participated in New Japan Pro Wrestling.

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8. David Douillet

Douillet, one of history's greatest judo players, was born in Rouen, France. He won the heavyweight gold medal at the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and Sydney. David also won a European crown and four world championships and is now among the most lauded in history due to his accomplishments.

The martial artist continued to be well-liked after his sporting career was over by working with Bernadette Chirac on the humanitarian project Opération Pièces Jaunes. David also started working as a sports consultant for Canal+. He was chosen as a member of the French National Assembly on October 18, 2009, and on September 26, 2011, he was appointed as the country's new minister of sports until May 2012.

7. Teddy Riner

Undoubtedly, Teddy Pierre-Marie Riner is the greatest French judoka of all time. He is the first and only judoka (male or female) to have won ten gold medals at the World Championships, and he has also won three gold medals at the Olympics.

Additionally, Teddy has five gold medals from the European Championships. As a result, the celebrity received the 2013 Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur award. He belonged to the Levallois Sporting Club before signing with Paris Saint-Germain in August 2017.

6. Ilias Iliadis

The Greek star Ilias Iliadis, who was born in Georgia, was honoured as the nation's top male athlete in 2014. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, he took first place in the half-middleweight (81 kg) division and was only 17 years old. Six years later, in 2010, Illiadis won a gold medal in the 90 kg division at the World Championships in Tokyo.

Iliadis was the first athlete to enter the Bird's Nest Stadium during the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing as the flagbearer for Greece. The martial artist is related to Georgian star Zurab Zviadauri, another Olympic gold medalist from the 2004 Summer Olympics. Since November 2019, Iliadis has served as the Uzbek national team's head coach.

5. Masato Uchishiba

Masato Uchishiba, a Japanese, won the gold medal in the men's under 66 kg category at both the Athens Summer Olympics in 2004 and the Beijing Summer Olympics in 2008. At the Kyushu University of Nursing, he was the women's team coach, but in 2011, he was fired for sexual harassment.

Masato won two gold medals at the Olympics. He first won the Olympic gold in the men's under 66 kg division at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, defeating Jozef Krná of Slovakia. He repeated the feat at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, defeating Benjamin Darbelet of France.

4. Anton Geesink

Antonius Johannes Geesink was a Dutch 10th dan judoka. He is regarded as among the greatest and most famous judoka in history. He won numerous titles and championships in judo thanks to his talent and desire to be the best.

Antonius became the first non-Japanese star to win gold at the World Championship in 1961 and 1965. He also held the title of Olympic Champion, having taken home the gold at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Japan. He set a career high by winning a record 21 European Championships.

3. Tadahiro Nomura

Tadahiro Nomura is one of the greatest judo players of all time and the most well-known player in Japan. The extra lightweight (-60 kg) division is where he has won all three consecutive Olympic gold medals, making him the only judoka in the world to accomplish this feat.

In 1996, he received his first gold medal, and in 1997, he took first place in the World Championship. Shinji Hosokawa also won a gold medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics and was coached by his father, who also taught judo in the area. He is a nephew to Toyokazu Nomura, who won a gold medal in the (-70 kg) division at the 1972 Summer Olympics.

2. Yasuhiro Yamashita

Most people agree that Yasuhiro Yamashita is the best fighter who has ever lived. Being one of the greatest judo masters, he is currently employed by various organisations as a teacher or advisor. On June 17, 1985, he announced his retirement from competitive games after a remarkable career in which he amassed 203 straight victories (with seven draws in between) and won five gold medals in international competitions.

At age 19, he became the youngest player to win the Olympic title in 1977, thanks to his outstanding performance. On October 9, 1984, he was awarded the Japanese National Prize of Honor.

1. Kanō Jigorō

Kanō Jigorō is the founder of judo and the person who established the black-and-white belt system in the game. Furthermore, The International Olympic Committee regards Kanō as the first Asian member of his club. He is hailed as the best judo player in the entire world.

Being the greatest player in history, he holds the top spot on the list of all-time great players and has more fans than any other martial artist. His official decorations and honours included the Third Imperial Degree, the Grand Order of the Rising Sun, and the First Order of Merit. On May 14, 1999, Kanō became the inaugural inductee of the International Judo Federation (IJF) Hall of Fame.

Since Japan is the nation that practises judo the most, the greatest judo players of all time are widely recognised there. The first time the game was played was at the Tokyo Summer Olympics in 1964.

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