Judo

From the opening day Tadahiro Nomura and Ryoko Tani each made history as Japan took an unbreakable hold on the tournament.

Few countries in any other sport can expect to dominate in the way Japan have in the Olympic judo tournament in Athens, heralded as one of the best ever.

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But even so, the success enjoyed by the judo team in Athens will have surpassed the expectations of even the most optimistic Japanese.

The organisation of the tournament received rave reviews and while Japan dominated with eight golds, judo's broad appeal was reflected in the six non-Japanese gold medallists who came from six different countries.

"It was the best organised judo tournament in Olympic history," said Anton Geesink, an International Olympic Committee delegate and a judo gold medallist in Tokyo in 1964.

"It was held in a wonderful venue; every day there was a full house," he said. "Everybody was happy."

Japan's haul of eight golds doubled their previous best.

From the opening day when the great Tadahiro Nomura and Ryoko Tani each made history - Nomura was the first three-time gold medallist and Tani the first woman to win a second title - Japan took an unbreakable hold on the tournament.

The team was spurred on by noisy and well-marshalled pockets of supporters who helped create pandemonium in the Ano Liossia Olympic stadium.

The atmosphere was something of a revelation to the uninitiated, unaccustomed to watching international judo.

With 94 nations competing and many boasting genuine medal prospects, groups of avid fans from around the world gathered in passionate expectation.

BOISTEROUS FANS

They came they shouted, they cheered and they created a white-hot atmosphere on every day of competition.

It helped too that Greece won a gold medal in the form of Georgian recruit Ilias Iliadis and despite Japan's domination there were a number of notable upsets.

France and Russia failed to win gold medals. Georgia won their first official Olympic gold through Zurab Zvidauri the day after a Georgian won gold for Greece.

That was a particularly poignant moment because the Caucasian state has played a major role in judo in recent years, twice winning the European team championships and finishing second to Japan in the world teams.

There was also a first Olympic judo gold medal for Belarus, another unfashionable yet competitive nation.

The broad strength of judo across the world is something that sets it apart from other sports - world and Olympic champions are a rarity.

Only three of last year's world champions, all Japanese, of course, added Olympic gold to their world title.

There was even the remarkable spectacle of Japanese superstar Kosei Inoue losing twice, once to an Azerbaijani, and a Venezuelan woman beat opponents from France and Britain, two traditional super-powers in women's judo.

At first glance it may seem as if there was a predictability to the judo tournament - but that could not be further from the truth.

Japan's success was remarkable but the rest of the world is only lagging in a few details. They have caught up before and no doubt will close the gap again in the not too distant future.