Judoka Hifumi Abe wins gold ahead of sister Uta Too at Paris Games; promises medal with sister in Los Angeles

PARIS — Hifumi Abe, who won gold in the 66-kilogram judo category at the Paris Olympics on Sunday, showed overwhelming strength after watching his younger sister lose in women’s judo earlier in the day.

Surrounded by cheers and applause from the crowd that filled the hall, Abe raised both arms. “This is how the Olympics should be,” he said.

The scene was different from the Tokyo Olympics, where he also won gold, but in a venue without spectators. The Paris Games “showed me something I had never seen before,” Abe said. It was his best moment after all the hard work he had put in.

His dream was to win two gold medals at the Olympics, together with his sister Uta Abe. She had also won gold at the Tokyo Olympics and had competed in Paris in the women’s 52 kg class.

However, Uta lost by ippon in the second round. When Abe saw his sister defeated during the warm-up, he said he decided to “do my utmost for my sister as well. I decided I had to do everything I could.”

His opponent in the final was Willian Lima, who is adept at successive attacks. Faced with the repeated rapid attacks, Abe thought, “This is going to get harder the longer the match goes on.” He won the match by making throws immediately after Lima’s attack and by using his footwork, which he said he had practiced intensively after the Tokyo Olympics.

“This time, now that Uta has lost, I have a new goal. There are more reasons than ever to try harder,” he said.

Heartbroken, Uta seemed unable to think about the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in four years.

“To be honest, as an older brother, I want to practice judo with you [with Uta] “For years to come,” Abe said.

It seems he wants his sister to experience the same joy and encouragement he got from the audience. He wants to cheer her on and dreams of the day in four years when they both wear a medal on the tatami in Los Angeles.