Antonius Johannes Geesink (6 April 1934 – 27 August 2010)[3][1] was aDutch10th danjudoka. He was the first non-Japanese judoka to win gold at theWorld Judo Championships, a feat he accomplished in1961 and1965. He was also an Olympic Champion, having won gold at the1964 Summer Olympics in Japan, and won a record 21European Judo Championships during his career.[4]
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Geesink took up judo at age 14 and, by 17, started competing internationally, winning a silver medal in 1951.[4] He won his first European title the following year. Through to 1967, twenty more European titles followed.
At the 1956 World Championships, Geesink was eliminated in the semi-finals againstYoshihiko Yoshimatsu.[5] At the 1961 World Championships, Geesink, then 5th dan,[6] became World Champion in the open class, defeating the Japanese championKoji Sone. Japanese judokas had won all the World Championship titles contested up to that point.
Judo debuted as an official sport at the1964 Summer Olympics, held in the sport's home country, Japan. Although Japan dominated three of the four weight divisions (light, middle, and heavy), Anton Geesink won the final of the open weight division, defeatingAkio Kaminaga in front of his home crowd.[7][3]
After winning the 1965 World Championships and a last European title in 1967, Geesink quit competitive judo.
Anton Geesink was one of the few 10thDan grade judoka (jūdan) recognized by theIJF but not by theKodokan Institute at that rank. Promotions from 6th to 10th Dan are awarded for services to the sport of judo. In 2010 there arethree living 10th dan grade judoka (jūdan) recognized by Kodokan:Toshiro Daigo,Ichiro Abe andYoshimi Osawa. The Kodokan has not awarded the 10th Dan to anybody outside Japan.
In October 1973,All Japan Pro Wrestling ownerGiant Baba recruited Anton Geesink, sending him toAmarillo, TX, to train underDory Funk Jr. andTerry Funk for a month. He debuted in Odessa for their promotion, NWA Western States, on October 16th, before touring as a popular part-timer for All Japan from November 24th, 1973, to February 5th, 1978.
Geesink's notable professional wrestling opponents includedBruno Sammartino,Gorilla Monsoon,Killer Kowalski,Dick Beyer,Dick Murdoch,Dory Funk Jr.,Harley Race,Bob Backlund,Bobby Duncum,Sgt. Slaughter,The Iron Sheik,Stan Hansen,Don Leo Jonathan,Horst Hoffman, andJumbo Tsuruta.
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Geesink made his acting debut in 1962, playing a detective in the Dutch filmRififi in Amsterdam. In 1965, he starred asSamson in the Italian historical filmGideon and Samson: Great Leaders of the Bible, and in the 1960s-1980s, he took part in three Dutch TV series, including the children's showOebele, where he also sang the song "Judo rock". In the 1960s he published several books on judo in Dutch and English.[8]
In 1986 during the Maastricht IJF DC meeting Geesink proposed that one player should wear a blue Judogi.[9]
In 1987, Geesink became a member of the board of the Dutch National Olympic Committee, and a member of theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC).
Geesink was among the IOC members suspected of accepting bribes during the scandal surrounding the election ofSalt Lake City as the host of the2002 Winter Olympics. Geesink's name was cleared by the IOC which nevertheless issued him a warning for the appearance of a conflict of interest which could have damaged the reputation of the IOC. Geesink continued working for IOC until his death in 2010.[3]
Geesink was born and raised in Utrecht. His family was poor and he started work as a builder aged 12. He died in 2010 aged 76 in the town of his birth. He was survived by Jans Geesink, his wife of more than 50 years; his sons Willy and Anton Jr.; and daughter, Leni.[4]
Geesink was chosen as the Dutch Sportsman of the Year in 1957, 1961, 1964 and 1965.[3] He was awarded theOrder of the Sacred Treasure by the Japanese government in 1997.[10][11]
His home town of Utrecht has a street named after him — which is the street he lived on for some time up until his death in August 2010.[3] On 29 January 2000, he was awarded anhonorary doctorate byKokushikan University, a Japanese university known for its sport education and of which four alumni are Olympic gold medalists in judo, with the following praise:[12]
ヘーシンク氏は、一九六四年東京オリンピックにおいて、柔道無差別級で外国人選手として初めて金メダルを獲得し、その後、武道精神をもって国際平和に貢献するとともにオランダ・日本両国民の文化交流・友好関係の促進に努め、また柔道を教育学や生体学的角度から研究し、その普及発展のために尽力された。武道の精神を重視する本大学は、柔道の国際的普及における同氏の功績を讃え、国士舘大学名誉博士の学位を贈呈した。
At the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Mr. Geesink won the gold medal in the open class as the first non-Japanese. Since then, with the spirit ofbudō, he has contributed to the international peace and promoted the cultural exchange and friendship between the people of the Netherlands and of Japan. Furthermore, he explored judo in light of education and somatology and has been devoted to its diffusion and development. To honor his contribution to the worldwide diffusion of judo, this university, as a body which prizes the spirit of budō, awarded him an honorary doctorate of Kokushikan University.
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Klaas Boot | Dutch Sportsman of the Year 1957 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Dutch Sportsman of the Year 1964–1965 | Succeeded by |
| Olympic Games | ||
| Preceded by Jan Willem van Erven Dorens | Flagbearer for NetherlandsTokyo 1964 | Succeeded by |
no bodyweight limit | |
World Judo Championships — Men's Openweight | |
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World Judo Championships — Men's Heavyweight | |
|---|---|
1965: +80 kg • 1967–75: +93 kg • 1979–97: +95 kg • 1999–present: +100 kg | |
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European Judo Championships — Men's Openweight | |
|---|---|
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European Judo Championships — Men's Heavyweight | |
|---|---|
1957–64: +80 kg • 1965–76: +93 kg • 1977–97: +95 kg • 1998–present: +100 kg | |
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