Yujiro Seto defeated his opponent in the 73 kilogram judo class J2 on Friday during the Paralympic Games in Paris.
16:16 JST, September 7, 2024
Yujiro Seto, ranked No. 1 in the world and one of Japan’s leading gold medal contenders, claimed gold by winning all three of his matches by ippon in the 73-kilogram judo J2 division for visually impaired judokas at the Paralympic Games in Paris. In his final match, Seto faced a Georgian opponent ranked No. 5 in the world after having breezed through the first and semi-finals. After just six seconds, Seto managed to achieve a waza-ari with his trademark seoi nage shoulder throw. Seto, who has been practicing judo for 20 years, said, “This is the only technique I have mastered,” emphasizing the dedication to the move that allowed him to take control of the match.
Seto was born in Fukuoka Prefecture with a congenital visual impairment and began judo at the age of four. In 2017, during his third year of high school, he switched from able-bodied judo to parajudo. Seto won the bronze medal in the 66-kilogram division at the Tokyo Paralympics, but was not satisfied, prompting him to change his training base to further improve his skills.
Until the Tokyo Paralympics, all visually impaired athletes competed in judo, but since Paris they have been divided into the categories of ‘total blindness’ and ‘visually impaired’. The weight classes have also been combined into four divisions for men and women. Despite moving up a weight class, Seto retained his speed and a new champion was born, perfectly suited for the gold medal.
