Kayla Harrison - United States

Kayla Harrison was born on July 2, 1990 in Ohio in the United States and took up judo at the age of six. She was introduced to the sport by her mother, who was involved in judo at the time.

Harrison obtained most of her titles under the coaching of Jimmy Pedro and his father.

She competed in the under-78 kilograms class and won gold at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics, the first American to reach this level in judo.

During her outstanding career she also triumphed at the World Championships in Tokyo in 2010, becoming the first American to achieve this since 1999 when her coach Pedro won the world title in Birmingham.

In 2008, Harrison won the Junior World Championships. The following year, she placed second, becoming the first American to compete in two junior world finals.

She also won gold at the 2011 and 2015 Pan American Games.

All these achievements have propelled Harrison into a position where she is regarded as one of the world's best ever athletes.