PARIS, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- Japan topped the gold medal tally with three golds while host France bagged most medals as the judo competition concluded on Saturday at the Paris Olympics.
Japan, the traditional powerhouse in judo who won nine golds at the Tokyo Olympics, collected three out of the 15 gold medals on offer, plus two silvers and three bronzes. Among their gold medalists, Hifumi Abe and Takanori Nagase successfully defended their titles in the men's 66kg and 81kg respectively.
The host nation put on a strong showing, too, earning two golds, two silvers, and six bronzes. Legendary Teddy Riner, competing in his fifth Olympics starting 2008, claimed his third individual title in the men's over 100kg.
"It is crazy," Riner said after winning his individual event. "Happy to have done it. We dream about it. We have some nightmares about it. But we can never think that it will happen this way."
"With such a crowd, with my family there to cheer me on. We understand why, all those years, we travel abroad, we train hard, and why there are moments of doubt. I know why I did it, and a lot of pride to have done it here," he added.
On the last competition day, the 35-year-old led his country to defend the mixed team gold, winning the tie-breaker against Tatsuru Saito of Japan. With this victory, the 11-time world champion added his medal tally to seven, five golds and two bronzes, making him the most decorated Olympic judoka in history.
A total of 26 countries and regions secured medals, with Canada, Croatia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan claiming their countries' first-ever Olympic gold in judo. Azerbaijan placed third with two golds.
The Chinese judo team sent six female athletes to the Games, only saw two-time Olympian Ma Zhenzhao take bronze in the women's 78kg, earning the country's first Olympic judo medal since Rio 2016. ■
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