The final of the men's -81kg category between Nagase and Tato Grigalashvili (Georgia) was one of the most anticipated bouts of the tournament. The reigning Olympic champion (Nagase) and the best judoka in the weight category over the last three years, who has won three world titles between 2022 and 2024 (Grigalashvili), were in different parts of the bracket. 

World N1 Matthias Casse (Belgium) and Korea's Joonhwan Lee could have prevented this final, but Casse lost to Nagase in the quarter-finals and Lee, who had been outstanding throughout the tournament, lost to Grigalashvili in the semi-finals.

Grigalashvili was once again the favourite to win the final. He had won his last two matches against Nagase, the last one at the 2022 World Championships. But this time his Japanese opponent was much better prepared. He scored a waza-ari and then an ippon in just 1.5 minutes to become a double Olympic champion. 

Victory belongs to Japan! 🇯🇵

Congratulations to Nagase Takanori, claiming back-to-back #golds in judo men's 81kg!

This is the first time an athlete has achieved back-to-back golds in men's 81kg judo! 💪@japan_olympic | @judo | #Paris2024 | #Samsung | #TogetherforTomorrow pic.twitter.com/Q4jMnXH86c

— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) July 30, 2024

Lee and Casse met in the third-place bout, and Lee won the contest to claim the bronze medal. Casse, who had finished third in Tokyo, missed the podium in Paris. The other bronze medal went to Somon Makhmadbekov of Tajikistan, who defeated Italy's Antonio Esposito.

Andreja Leski was one of the medal contenders in the women's -63kg category. But few would have predicted that she would win the gold medal, and even fewer would have predicted that Prisca Awiti Alcaraz from Mexico would be in the final.

However, Leski's most important victory came not in the final but in the semi-final. She had a couple of tough wins in the first three rounds and came up against Tokyo 2020 champion and Rio 2016 runner-up Clarisse Agbegnenou of France. Agbegnenou, already a legend in French judo, had beaten Leski in the finals of the 2021 and 2023 World Championships. They had met five times before, and Agbegnenou had won all five. 

But here in Paris, cheered on by the crowd at the Champ-de-Mars Arena, Agbegnenou was beaten by the Slovenian. Leski scored a waza-ari and denied her opponent any successful attacks. 

Leski went on to face the biggest surprise of the tournament so far in the final. On her way to the final, the 28-year-old Mexican Awiti, whose biggest career successes were a silver medal at the 2023 Tashkent Grand Slam and a bronze medal at the 2023 PanAm Games, defeated 2024 World silver medallist Angelika Szymanska of Poland, two-time IJF Grand Slam champion Lubjana Piovesana of Austria and another tournament sensation, Katarina Kristo of Croatia.

The 28-year-old Mexican was the first to score in the final. She took the lead with a waza-ari, but Leski once again showed strong character to score an ippon and take the gold medal. Awiti Alcaraz had to settle for silver.

Kristo was very close to a bronze medal. She fought World N3 Laura Fazliu (Kosovo) for the bronze medal and scored a waza-ari on the golden score. However, after a review, the judges found the Croatian to have acted incorrectly and gave her a third warning instead of the win. Fazliu won the bronze medal, as did Agbegnenou, who defeated Piovesana. The French now have a complete collection of Olympic medals.

The fifth day of competition will see the men's -90kg and women's -70kg categories in action.