We introduced the statistics, the almost impossible feat and the question in our first article in the series, which can be found here:
https://www.ijf.org/news/show/151-olympic-champions-tokyo-to-tokyo
A reminder of the question:
It could be said that to be in the company of an Olympic judo champion is to be presented with someone who has reached an absolute pinnacle, a ceiling which cannot be surpassed; there is nowhere further to ascend in the world of sport. We often find Olympic champions speaking with freedom and certainty, unafraid to share an opinion, speaking of their lives and journeys with confidence. For many we feel there is peace, and that can be magnetic and inspiring.
So the question is, did they become Olympic champion because of that character or did they become that person having won the Olympic gold medal?
“When I was a junior athlete I was not so strong. Many other judoka were world or Olympic champion and many won medals but I was different, I had to take longer and work and work everyday. It took a long time to develop my judo.
When I was a child there were so many sports but I started judo and then I didn’t try many other sports. I did sumo too when I was a child, while the main sports in our area of Japan were really baseball and sumo; other sports were not popular."
"I started when I was 12 at junior high school. I liked it, actually I loved it. I thought I would not be able to join in with international competitions because I thought I wasn’t good enough but I liked judo. When I was 25, after graduating from university at 22 and joining the Hyogo prefecture police judo team, I started to work in my job and it was at that time that I first won at an international level; I won both the Hungary and Czech opens. After I won those events I started to think it was possible to do more and achieve a higher level.
During my time with the police team I became sick with pancreatitis and had to stop judo for some weeks and so in that time I was thinking a lot about what I should do. I concluded that I could only fully express myself while doing judo and so I should only focus on that. I changed my schedule and so 80-90% of my time was given to judo, just a little time was spent working.
After winning the matches in Hungary and the Czech Republic, I thought about the year ahead and maybe attending the world championships; I really wanted to participate. I did go to that worlds and I won silver but I regretted the outcome and knew I needed more confidence and more fighting globally. I thought about the next step and if it was possible to represent Japan at the Olympic Games. I went to the 1983 worlds as mentioned and also won a bronze in 1985 worlds but for the Olympic Games, I was up against Yamamoto for the 1984 selection. He was my biggest rival in Japan."
"We fought the final against each other in both the Hungary and Czech tournaments and I beat him and then we met in the All Japan Championships and I won again so I was selected for the Games.
Early on I felt I wasn’t so strong but I gradually thought about practising more and as I progressed I always thought that I was better than the week before and this brought confidence. I became convinced I would win. So I think it was important to be competitive and not just love judo."
"Once I knew I would attend the Olympic Games, when it was finally decided, I was very pleased at first, but gradually I felt a lot of pressure and became nervous. I was questioning myself a lot, was I really the best one to go? It was a struggle within me. One of the biggest ways to motivate, for me, is to practise every day more than any other judoka. It’s how I managed my psychology, to do more. All I wanted to do was win that gold medal. No private issue or work matter would be considered. My focus was absolute.
I had a strong Korean opponent in the Olympic final and he was ready too so I can only think of one reason why I won the gold over him: the willingness and desire, I imagined only to win. He tried wake-gatame on me a few times and eventually it made me angry and I felt a fire in my heart to not lose. Perhaps that contributed too."
"I didn’t change after winning the gold medal but before the Olympics I gradually changed from negative to positive; it was a change towards never giving up. I wanted to practise more and collect the knowledge that I was ready. Based on that, I didn’t change because of the gold medal, I had already changed.
Actually, it was important to get the gold medal but it was more important to know that judo is what helped me to grow up and make many friends. My life is thanks to judo not just thanks to one medal."
"I have thought a lot about how it would have been to not win the gold medal. Thinking about is deeply, I think life would not be changed too much if I hadn’t won because thanks to judo itself, I made the relationships I have. The process was more important than the goal even though the goal drove the process.”
Yoshiyuki Matsuoka is now the General Manager for the Komatsu women’s judo team in Japan.
