Jo Gu-ham, the symbol of Korean judo (KH Group Phillux, 6th in the world ranking), unfortunately lost after an overtime battle, but won a valuable silver medal.
In the men's 100kg final in judo at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held at the Japan Budokan in Tokyo, Koo-ham Jo recorded a defeat by allowing Aaron Wolf (5th place), a Japanese mixed race athlete, to play an Andari free kick after a golden score (overtime) match.
Jo Go-Ham received one map (fault) from Wolf and one map within 39 seconds of the match.
Afterwards, all four minutes of regular time were spent in a power fight, and the game went into overtime.
Overtime is unlimited and ends in a foul if more than half of the skills are successful or a player gets 3 maps.
Gooham Jo received the second guidance for his passive attack at 49 seconds of the Golden Score, and Wolfe also recorded the second map at 1:30 in the Golden Score for a flagging foul.
The two players fought a battle of strength until they ran out of stamina, and Jo Go-Ham gave up a Andari free kick at the Golden Score of 5:35 and recorded a match.
Born on July 30, 1992 in Chuncheon, Gangwon-do, Goo-ham Jo started judo at Woosuk Elementary School at the recommendation of a teacher. After attending Daeseong Middle School and Cheongseok High School, he went on to Yongin University.
Won the 2018 World Championships and won the 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam, winning prizes in various international competitions and making a name for itself as a strong player in that weight class.
Goo-ham Jo was also selected as a candidate for the championship at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, but was eliminated in the round of 16 due to misfortune that he injured his left anterior cruciate ligament three months before the opening of the competition.
This is the first time that Korean Judo has won a silver medal in this competition.
(Photo = Yonhap News)