Interviewing Franco Capelletti is entering a world of oceanic proportions. It is not an easy task because there is so much to cover. When we still did not know where to start, he himself provided the solution. We asked the questions, Franco answered and Bertoletti Giacomo Spartaco, journalist and member of the kata commission of the International Judo Federation, embellished the article in his own way. The result is so dense that we prefer to publish it by episodes. Here comes the the last chapter, to meet a legend of judo, universal encyclopedia and teacher among teachers.
Franco Capelletti

Italy has a strong team, a mixture of experience and youth. Do you believe the Italians will perform well at the Olympic Games?

As I have already explained, the magic is in the DNA of the Italians. When we are really up against it, it is time for the best things to happen. So it is in life, as it is in sport! Each competition is a separate matter and the Olympics is a ‘super-competition,’ or better a ‘super world championship.’ Basically, you can win the continental championship or maybe the world championships and still not win the Olympics. The opposite can also be true. 

I will mention Ezio Gamba, who has never won a world championship but brought a gold medal hone from the Games in Moscow (1980) and a silver from the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984. On the contrary, Neil Adams, also born in 1958 like Gamba, won various world and European titles but no Olympic gold medal.

I believe that the Olympics is the ‘super world championship’ where only the first in the continentals and world championships should compete. Competition days would be shorter for the more popular, major sports, such as athletics and swimming and for judo too, making space for new sports disciplines that are appearing in the whole university of sport. An Olympic gold medal, that is the dream!

How do you see the future of judo and the world in the coming months and years?

Will it be the utopia of rebirth?

So Jigoro Kano's educational proposal was buried. At the end of the war, with the United States and all of Asia aware of the atrocities committed during World War II, a moral proposal concerning education, formulated by Japan, could not be considered by the new world order. The founder's books also disappeared in Japan and judo was spread mainly through military sports structures, all over the world.

Today the world has rediscovered Kano's proposal. Let's say that Italy has earned some credit by translating all pedagogical dialogue, to arrive at the creation of an education system that is not at the service of partial ideologies.

Kodokan judo, interpreted as an idea of judo-education, has structured organisations in European countries, which today give life to national and world championships.

We believe that Japan is expanding this initiative, because the competitive activity aimed at educational purposes, is useful to young people. The aims of judo education are to involve other disciplines, to shift the balance of the world towards ‘being all together, in an intelligent way.

It has been said that the future is a dramatic confrontation between education and chaos.

See also
Judo for Peace
Judo and Peace in Motion

04. Sep. 2025 / Earlier this year we followed Austrian 6th dan judoka ...

News
Changing of the Guard in Austrian Judo

04. Sep. 2025 / Olympic medallist Shamil Borchashvili is retiring after ...

Interview
Julien Goes Around the World (32)

02. Sep. 2025 / A few days ago, on the occasion of the Cadet World ...

Cadet WC 2025
Japan Retain Their Mixed Team Crown in Sofia

31. Aug. 2025 / The closing day of the OTP Group World Cadet Championships ...

Cadet WC 2025
Mixed Teams: A New Balance of Power in Sofia?

31. Aug. 2025 / The curtain has not yet fallen on the OTP Group World ...

Cadet WC 2025
A Week of Rising Stars

31. Aug. 2025 / Uzbekistan, who made a flying start by claiming three ...

Cadet WC 2025
A Golden Finale for the Individuals in Sofia

30. Aug. 2025 / The final day of individual competition at the OTP ...

Cadet WC 2025
+90 kg: Abalaki Delivers Georgia’s Fifth Medal with Heavyweight Gold

30. Aug. 2025 / The semi-final line-up had a familiar feel, with athletes ...

Cadet WC 2025
+70 kg: Nigmatova Powers Through to Uzbekistan’s Fifth Title

30. Aug. 2025 / There was much at stake in the final women’s category ...

Cadet WC 2025
-90 kg: Suleimanov Stands Tall for Gold

30. Aug. 2025 / The fate of the top seeds varied throughout the week. ...

Cadet WC 2025
-70 kg: Clarisse Valim Dominates to Deliver Gold for Brazil

30. Aug. 2025 / Top seed and world number one Lucie Rullier (FRA) came ...

Cadet WC 2025
Uzbekistan Extends Its Lead

30. Aug. 2025 / The OTP Group World Cadet Championships Sofia 2025 ...

Cadet WC 2025
Surprises, Confirmations and Rising Stars

29. Aug. 2025 / Day three of the OTP Group World Cadet Championships ...

INTERVIEW EXPRESS
Shishime Ai (JPN)

08. Jun. 2018 / The next reigning world champion to be invited to answer ...

News
5 Key Takeaways from judo’s first Tokyo 2020 qualifier

06. Jun. 2018 / Highlights from Hohhot Grand Prix 2018

VIDEO
Judo for the World in Iran

07. Jun. 2018 / In April 2018, the International Judo Federation and ...

Meeting
JUDO: A Beneficial Cause

07. Jun. 2018 / 'Society should believe in sport as a beneficial cause ...