Physical prowess and mental discipline are both essential in Judo. It comprises methods that let you elevate and toss your opponents onto their backs while standing.
Techniques for controlling and subduing opponents on the ground and various chokeholds and joint locks are covered.
A judo player (judoka) must be physically fit and have optimal weight to accomplish all of this. In this case, the heaviest fighters in Judo would be an excellent subject to examine.
Keep reading to learn more:
1. Rafael Silva
Rafael Carlos da Silva is a judoka from Brazil who competes in the heavyweight division. He became Brazil’s first Olympic medalist in the heavyweight judo division (>100 kg) when he earned a bronze medal in the heavyweight division at the London 2012 Games.
Silva is a Brazilian. According to the rating, he is also one of the world’s heaviest judo players, weighing 364 pounds. Silva won the Pan American Judo Championships in 2012–2014 and 2016, qualifying for the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in 2016.
2. Teddy Riner
Teddy Pierre-Marie Riner, a judoka from France, competes in the sport. He is the first and only judoka to have won ten World Championship gold medals and three Olympic gold medals (two individual, one team). He also won five gold medals in the European Championships.
He was a member of the Levallois Sporting Club before joining Paris Saint-Germain in August 2017. Teddy weighs 287 pounds, making him one of the heaviest judo players.
3. Hisayoshi Harasawa
Hisayoshi Harasawa is a judoka from Japan born on July 3, 1992. He competed in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where he won silver in the men’s +100 kg final against gold medalist Teddy Riner.
He’s also qualified to compete in the 2020 Summer Olympics for Japan. With 276 pounds, Hisayoshi is among the world’s heaviest judo players.
4. Or Sasson
Or Sasson is a judoka from Israel who competed in the Summer Olympics in London in 2012. His achievements to date include a bronze medal in the +100 kg division at the 2016 Summer Olympics and a silver medal in the 2020 Summer Olympics. Only two Israeli athletes have won two Olympic medals after him.
Sasson is one of the world’s heaviest judo players, weighing 265 pounds. Sasson won a silver medal for Israel in the +100 kg judo event at the 2015 European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan. As a result, he won a silver medal in the European Judo Championships in 2015.
5. Luká Krpálek
Luká Krpálek, a Czech Republic heavyweight judoka, was born on November 15, 1990. He is an Olympic and World Champion and a former and current Olympic Champion (2019). (2016 and 2020)
He was named Czech Judoka of the Year eight times between 2008 and 2015, making him the most successful judoka in Czech and Czechoslovak history. He is also one of the world’s heaviest judo players, weighing 220 pounds.
6. Henk Grol
Grol competed as a late replacement for Mark Huizinga, who had to withdraw for personal reasons, in the men’s under 90 kg class at the 2007 European Judo Championships in Belgrade, Serbia.
He won gold in the men’s under 100-kilogram event at the 2008 European Judo Championships in Lisbon, Portugal. At 22, he was the year’s youngest European Champion. He is one of the heaviest judo players ever, weighing 243 pounds.
7. Idalys Ortiz
Idalys Ortiz Bocourt is a Cuban international judoka born September 27, 1989. She competed in the over 78 kg division at the Olympics in 2008, 2012, and 2016, winning a gold each time.
She won a silver medal in the women’s +78 kg weightlifting class at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Idalys, who weighs 210 pounds, is one of the world’s heaviest judo players.
8. Ilias Iliadis
Ilias Iliadis is a Georgian–Greek judoka who has represented Greece since his international debut. In 2014, he was named Greek Male Athlete of the Year.
He won a gold medal in the half-middleweight (81 kg) category at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens at the age of 17. Six years later, in 2010, Iliadis won gold in the 90 kg event at the World Judo Championships in Tokyo. He is one of the world’s heaviest judo players, weighing in at 200 pounds.
9. Takanori Nagase
Takanori Nagase, a Japanese judoka, was born on October 14, 1993. Nagase’s accomplishments include the Universiade in Kazan in 2013, the Grand Slam in Tokyo in 2013 and 2014, the All Japan Championships, the IJF Masters in Rabat, and the World Judo Championships in 2015.
Nagase is well-known for his newaza, and his preferred method is Uchi Mata. He is the first and only Japanese judoka to win the World Championships in the -81 kg weight class.
Nagase won gold in the Men’s 81 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. He is one of the largest judo players, weighing in at 180 pounds.
