TheInternational Judo Federation (IJF) is the internationalgoverning body forjudo, founded in July 1951.[1] Today the IJF has 200 National Federations on all continents. There are over 20 million people around the globe who practice judo, according to the IJF.[2]
On July 11, 1951 in London, the representatives of theEuropean Judo Union (Great Britain, France, Italy, Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Switzerland) received the candidacy of Argentina and the International Judo Federation was created.[3] The Italian Aldo Torti became the first President of the IJF. Countries from four continents were affiliated over the next ten years.
Since 2009, IJF has organized yearlyWorld Championships and theWorld Judo Tour consisting of five Grand Prix, four Grand Slams, a master tournament, and a Continental open tournament.[4]
In September 2021, Algerian judokaFethi Nourine and his coachAmar Benikhlef were suspended for 10 years by the IJF after Nourine refused to fight an Israeli athlete during the2020 Summer Olympics.[6] Nourine said his political support for the Palestinians in theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict made it impossible for him to compete against Israeli athletes.[7]
The IJF initially named Russian PresidentVladimir Putin its honorary president and IJF Ambassador in 2008.[8] However, that status was suspended[8][9] and then stripped[10] in 2022, in reaction to theRussian invasion of Ukraine.
The IJF also cancelled all competitions in Russia, but allowed their athletes to compete as neutrals in individual and team competitions.[11][12]
IJF PresidentMarius Vizer, a long-time close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin, wanted to let Russians and Belarusians continue to compete as neutral athletes despite the invasion of Ukraine and subsequent Ukrainian pressure to suspend them entirely.[12] Ultimately, both national federations withdrew on their own accord, until June 2022 when they returned.[12] Ukraine boycotted IJF events beginning in June 2022 because the Russian team was allowed to compete in and entered competitions. Judo is one of the fewOlympic sports which goes against the recommendation of theInternational Olympic Committee.[13]
The IJF announced on 29 April 2023, the last day of event registration for the2023 World Championships, that Russian and Belarusian athletes would be allowed to participate as individual neutral athletes following background checks.[14][15][16] Following the announcement, twenty Russian and Belarusian athletes were registered and entered into the championships.[15][17][18] Of the twenty, at least five were reported to have ties with theRussian Armed Forces,[15][19] despite the IOC's suggestion to deny participation of athletes who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies.[15][20] In protest, the Ukrainian team withdrew from the championships.[15][17][19]
