Takanori Nagase (Japanese:永瀬貴規; born 14 October 1993) is a Japanesejudoka.[3][4]
Nagase is a double Olympic champion at under 81 kg, winning gold in both 2020 (2021) and 2024.[5] He won bronze in 2016. His other achievements include theUniversiade in Kazan in 2013,[6] the Grand Slam in Tokyo in 2013 and 2014,[6] the All Japan Championships, the IJF Masters in Rabat and theWorld Judo Championships in 2015.[7]
Nagase's favourite technique isuchi mata[8] and is known for his newaza. He is the first and only Japanese judoka to become world champion in the -81 kg weight class.[9] Nagase won the gold medal in theMen's 81 kg event at the2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan and at the2024 Summer Olympics held in Paris, France.[10]
Nagase started judo at the age of 6.[6] As a child, he competed nationally in the under 40 kg class, and had lost to future teammateNaohisa Takato, finishing fifth place.
In junior high and high school he attended Nagasaki Nihon University, where he also competed nationally. He won various awards for his alma mater across weight classes.[11][12] Nagase still frequently trains at his alma mater, and teaches young judokas.[13]
Nagase attended theUniversity of Tsukuba.[14] He was the half-middleweight champion at the 2013 All Japan University Championships. He had also taught at theKodokan as an instructor to children.[15]
Nagase's grand-uncle is Katsushi Hirao, a silver medalist at the 1969 World Championships.[16]
After graduating from Tsukuba, Nagase signed withAsahi Kasei.[17]
Nagase won the half-middleweight gold inKazan, winning three out of his four fights by ippon.[18]
In the team competition, Japan won all their fights 5-0 en route to the final. Nagase went against Lee Seungsoo, who he later competed against in the senior tournaments, and lost by ippon. However, Japan still won 3–2, and secured gold.[19]
Nagase's first senior international competition was at the European Open inTbilisi, Georgia. He was fairly successful, winning his first three fights byippon. He lost to Tural Safguliyev, when the Azerbaijani threw him for ippon in the final, therefore making Nagase settle for silver.
Nagase's first Grand Slam competition was at home ground inTokyo. He had experienced opponents in the form ofEuropean championAvtandil Tchrikishvili in the quarter-final andreigning world championLoïc Pietri in the final. Nagase threw Pietri for ippon usingashi guruma to win the gold medal.[20]
Nagase participated in his second Grand Slam in Paris. He again faced Tchrikishvili in the quarter-final, and lost by shido. He won the repechage against Germany's Sven Maresch, and won by shido. He narrowly won the bronze against Canada'sAntoine Valois-Fortier, with just a yuko between them.
Nagase won his first senior national title at the All Japan Championships inFukuoka. He beat Keita Nagashima in the final to represent Japan at the2014 World Championships in the half-middleweight category, and claim gold.
Nagase also participated in the prestigious Open category in Tokyo, where he surprised heavyweight opponents by beating Kazuhiko Takahashi, who outweighs him by 40 kg, in the quarter-final.[21] He lost to eventual champion Takeshi Ojitani, who beat him by ippon withosaekomi-waza. He ended up winning bronze.
Nagase represented Japan in his first world championships inChelyabinsk. He was playing ippon judo in his first three fights, however again lost against eventualworld champion Tchrikishvili in the quarter-final by shido. He narrowly won the repechage against Lebanon's Nacif Elias by shido, but was defeated by Pietri in a revenge match by waza-ari, leaving Nagase to finish fifth place.
In theteam competition, Nagase faced Tchrikishvili for the second time in the tournament during the semi-final. As Georgia were thedefending world champions and Tchrikishvili was the reigning world champion, odds were against Nagase, even though Japan were 2–0 up. However, he managed to defeat Tchrikishvili in golden score with anuchi mata for waza-ari.[22]
Japan was against home favourites Russia in the team final. With Russia PresidentVladimir Putin watching and the home crowd cheering, the Russians capitalized on their advantage and defeated the first two Japanese judokas. Nagase managed to overcome the pressure and defeat Murat Khabachirov with anouchi gari for ippon, salvaging Japan's chances. Japan ended up winning 3–2, and the final was cemented as one of the best in history.[23]
Nagase successfully defended his Grand Slam title for the second year running. On the course to the final, Nagase was against double world andOlympic championKim Jae-bum in the quarter-final, and defeated him by waza-ari. In the semi-final, Nagase faced against rival Tchrikishvili, and won by ippon. Nagase won the gold medal after defeatingSergiu Toma in golden score.
"Somehow we were able to win. It was good to repay last year's loss. I think that it is a real game from here on; I think that we want to further devote [our effort] to win in next year's Olympic Games. Since there is also a team competition I will do my best again. Really, thank you for your support." - Nagase's comment on his junior's blog post, thanking his alma mater
Nagase made a shock exit in the second round of the Grand Prix inDüsseldorf, losing to Belarus' Aliaksandr Stsiashenka by ippon and waza-ari.
Nagase again won the gold in the half-middleweight category at the national championships, beating Nagashima for the second time.
Nagase claimed his first Masters title inRabat, defeating Toma again by osaekomi-waza for ippon.
Nagase played ippon judo in his first two fights, however narrowly won by shido against Egypt's Mohamed Abdelaal. He then faced Korea's Lee Seung-soo in the quarter-final, where he usedkouchi gari to throw Lee for waza-ari, then followed up withkuzure kesa gatame for ippon.[25] He once again met Tchrikishvili, in the semi-final, and scraped through to the final with a yuko. He defeated Pietri in the final with asankaku kami shiho for ippon, makingnewaza one of Nagase's most effective techniques.[26] He became Japan's first half-middleweight world champion.[9] He was one of Japan's three male individual gold medalists in the tournament.[27]
In theteam competition, Japan faced South Korea in the final. Nagase defeated Lee again, and Japan won the gold with a score of 3–2.
Nagase looked to defend his Grand Slam title in Tokyo thrice, and looked to be on form, defeating all his opponents in his first three fights by ippon.
However, Nagase was caught in controversy in the quarter-final, where he was disqualified for committinghansoku make. The referee appeared to be pressured by Lee's coachSong Dae-nam, who was avidly shouting for disqualification. Nagase had been knocked in the mouth during the fight, and was bleeding, but did not seek medical attention until after the final decision had been called. Japan's head coachKōsei Inoue later on explained that Nagase was holding thejudogi, and not the leg. TheInternational Judo Federation later apologized for the refereeing mistake.[28][29][30][31] After the bout a journalist approached Nagase to inform him that the decision was incorrect. Nagase responded with gratitude, and said, "It's lucky it's not the Olympics."[32]
Nagese went on to win bronze against Greece's Roman Moustopoulos, scoring an ippon, a waza-ari and two yukos.
Nagase won his third consecutive Japanese national title in his first competition of 2016 at the All Japan Championships. He defeated Nagashima for the third time by waza-ari with an unorthodoxushiro goshi.[33][13]
By winning the national title, and being the highest ranked Japanese in the half-middleweights, Nagase was chosen to represent Japan in his division at the2016 Olympics.[34]
Nagase returned to international competition after a five-month absence at the Grand Slam inBaku.[35] He played his first bout against local Abdulhagg Rasullu, and won by scoring a waza-ari withouchi gari then scoring another waza-ari for ippon using one of his favourite ground techniques, sankaku gatame.[36]
Nagase played against Portugal's Carlos Luz in the quarter-final. Nagase first scored a waza-ari with an ouchi gari to uchi mata combination. He then sealed the bout with another uchi mata for ippon.[37]
In the semi-final, Nagase, the senior half-middleweight World Champion, faced his toughest opponent of the competition, junior half-middleweight World Champion, Dutchman Frank de Wit. De Wit managed to catch the Japanese off guard, scoring a waza-ari a minute and a half into the fight. The IJF commentators said that de Wit mockingly remarked,"Takanori who?" after scoring against Nagase.[37] Nagase then scored a waza-ari with akosoto gake with only ten seconds left. The bout went into golden score as both were level with a shido each. The bout was decided in favour of Nagase.
Nagase faced Bulgaria's Ivaylo Ivanov in the final, and defeated him in 40 seconds by ippon withkosoto gari.[38][39]
"I practised to win the gold medal in the Olympics but I lost in the quarterfinal. After that, everyone said to me to change my feelings. Because of their support I could win the bronze medal. The first thing I learned was that I did not have enough strength to win. To win on this big stage is really difficult."
— Nagase on his Olympic bronze medal, one of Japan's 12 medals from judo
Nagase returned to action at home in Tokyo, his first tournament after the Olympic Games. He was up against Serbia's Stefan Majdov in Round 2. Nagase tried to turn Majdov transitioning to newaza, but was unsuccessful. Nagase then attempted a low ashi waza, however the referees ruled no score. He then rolled Majdov over for newaza but was stopped by the referee, calling ippon.
In the quarter-final he faced Korean Hong Sukwong. Nagase first attacked with an uchi mata, but Hong was able to block it to give no score. Nagase then pulled Hong to the ground, and pinned him with yoko shiho gatame for ippon. Nagase then endured a tough fight against countryman Yuki Haruyama. Haruyama attacked first with a newaza attempt, but was unable to roll Nagase to his front. Nagase then followed with multiple uchi mata attempts to no avail. Haruyama's drop seoi nage attempts were also blocked by Nagase, however the former had picked up two shidos sending Nagase through to the final.
Nagase was against Germany's Dominic Ressel, and again went to ground for his first attack. Upon turning Ressel over, they went outside the tatami and was called to restart by the referee. After several tries on the ground, Nagase finally had a breakthrough withkouchi gaeshi for yuko which he connected to tate shiho gatame for ippon. He won his third title in Tokyo,[41] despite having some blood on the side of his face.
(as of June 2024)[42]
| Judo Record | |
|---|---|
| Total | 140 |
| Wins | 121 |
| by Ippon | 83 |
| Losses | 19 |
| by Ippon | 9 |
Grand Slam -81 kg,Tokyo[43]
European Open -81kg,TbilisiUniversiade -81kg,Kazan Grand Slam -81 kg,Tokyo
Grand Slam -81 kg,Paris All Japan Judo Championships -81 kg,Fukuoka All Japan Judo Championships OpenM,Fukuoka World Championships -81 kg,Astana IJF World Masters -81 kg,Rabat All Japan Judo Championships -81 kg,Fukuoka Grand Slam -81kg,Tokyo All Japan Judo Championships -81kg,Fukuoka Grand Slam -81kg,BakuOlympic Games -81 kg,Rio de Janeiro Grand Slam -81kg,TokyoOlympic Games -81 kg,TokyoOlympic Games -81 kg,Paris
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
1972–1976: –70 kg •1980–1996: –78 kg •2000–: –81 kg | |
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World Judo Championships — Men's Half Middleweight | |
|---|---|
1967–75: −70 kg • 1979–97: −78 kg • 1999–present: −81 kg | |
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