Learn about Judo Weight Classes for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio

Judo Weight Classes at the 2016 Summer Olympics

Judo just like in the Summer Olympics Boxing or Wrestling has weight classes that are used to determine who will compete with who. In the 2016 Summer Olympics Judo events for either for men or women are based in 7 different weight classes. The men and women weight classes differ slightly with the men Judo weight classes; of course the weights are slightly heavier. The Summer Olympics weight classes in Judo determine the number of events for each gender.

Please find below the table with more information on the weight classes for the 2016 Summer Olympics Judo.

2016 Rio Summer Olympics Judo Weight Classes/ Events
Men			Women
Event	Weight Classes	Class Weight in Kilograms	Event	Weight Classes	Class Weight Kilograms
1	Heavyweight	100 Plus	1	Heavyweight	78 Plus
2	Half-heavyweight	90 to 100	2	Half-heavyweight	70 to 78
3	Middleweight	81 to 90	3	Middleweight	63 to 70
4	Half-middleweight	73 to 81	4	Half-middleweight	57 to 63
5	Lightweight	66 to 73	5	Lightweight	52 to 57
6	Half-lightweight	60 to 66	6	Half-lightweight	48 to 58
7	Extra-lightweight	Less than 60	7	Extra-lightweight	Less than 48

 

Changes in Judo weight Classes from Tokyo 1964 to Rio 2016

The 2016 Rio Summer Olympics weight classes are not new but have been there from the initial editions though they have undergone some changes. In the Tokyo 1964; this is the edition that Judo for men made its debut to Los Angeles 1984; that is some 20 years, they were fewer weight classes as compared to seven that will feature in Rio. For example there were 4 weight classes in the inaugural games of 1964 and when it made it come back in the Munich edition at the 1972 Games, the classes increased to a total of 6, which did not change at all at the 1976 Summer Olympics Games.

The highest number of weight classes that Judo has ever had was 8 and this was in the 1980 Summer Olympics held in former Soviet Union capital; Moscow 1980 and this was the same for the subsequent edition, the Los Angeles 1984 Games. From Seoul 1988 to Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, the weight classes have remained seven though there have been removal and inclusion of some classes during in between these editions.

The weight classes’ combination has also changed over the years. The 4 weights of the 1964 editions included the open weight category with no weight limits, this would remain so five Summer Olympics editions and was only discontinued from the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. Other weights changes includes, the gradual increase of kilograms in what is referred to as Heavyweight of the 1964; which was 80 Kilograms Plus, while that of 1972 and 1976 was 93 kilograms Plus. Heavyweight of 1980 to 1992 was 95 kilograms plus while from then onward, it has been anything from 100 kilograms and above as it will be in Rio 2016.

Half Heavyweight was introduced in the 1972 Munich Games and is still part of the weight classes in the 2016 Summer Olympics edition. However it has also undergone some changes. Half Heavyweight was from 80 kilograms to 93 kilograms in the 1972 and 1976 editions, it changed to between 86 kilograms to 95 kilograms from 1980 to 1992 and finally to what we will have in Rio 2016; from 90 kilograms to 100 kilograms.

Middleweight has been part of the weight classes since 1964 and just like the heavyweight; it has undergone some changes across the 13 editions. In the 1964 edition middleweight was the 68 kilograms to 80 kilograms weight class, this was reduced by 2 kilograms to weight between 70 kilograms and 80 kilograms for the 1972 and 1976 edition. From 1980 to 1992, middleweight was between 78 and 86 kilograms only to change further to 81 kilograms and 90 kilograms from 1996 to Rio. The 1964 Summer Olympics Judo middleweight has been broken down to two weight classes; middleweight and half middleweight. In the 1972 and 1976 edition, the half middleweight was between 70 and 80 kilograms, and then 1980 to 1992 the class range from 71 kilograms to 78 kilograms and what will be classified in Rio as half middleweight will be from 73 to 81 kilograms.

Finally, in the 1964 edition of the Games, Lightweight was anything below 68 kilograms, but like all the other weight, this has changed too, but remained the same for the in the subsequent editions of 1972 and 1976. It was broken down further to three weight class from the 1980 to 2016. These 3 weight classes are Lightweight which is between 65 kilograms and 71 kilograms, though this was altered from 1996 to 66 kilograms and 73 kilograms. The other weight class derived from the Lightweight of the first editions of the Summer Olympics Games is the Half Lightweight; from 60 kilograms to 65 kilograms until 1992 Barcelona edition then from 60 kilograms to 66 kilograms from 1996 Atlanta to Rio. Of all the three weight classes derived from Lightweight of 1964 to 1976, Extra Lightweight has remained the same throughout; anything less than 60 Kilograms for men and 48 kilograms for women.

The 2016 Summer Olympics Judo sport for both men and women will maintain the weight classes as they were in the last Summer Olympics; London 2012. Go and enjoy Judo sport, you have some background on the weight classes.