EDITORIAL | Bravo to the Olympic Athletes Winning in an Early Medal Rush

Japan's Olympic athletes are off to an excellent start at the Paris 2024 Games. As of 7 AM Thursday morning, August 1 JST, they had won a total of 15 medals: 8 gold, 3 silver, and 4 bronze.

Natsumi Tsunoda was an early highlight when she brought home a gold in the women's 48-kilogram judo competition. It was Japan's first gold medal in the Paris Olympics and 500th for all Summer Olympiads. Another highlight was Hifumi Abe earning his second gold in the men's 66-kilogram judo competition. It matches the one he won at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games three years ago.

Natsumi Tsunoda (center), winner of the gold medal in the women's 48 kg judo category, with the silver and bronze medalists, at the 2024 Paris Olympics, at the Champ de Mars Arena (©Sankei by Keisuke Mizushima)

In the men's epee individual fencing event, Koki Kano defeated the French hero Yannick Borel in the final to take the gold. Outdoors in the women's street skateboarding event, the teenage dynamic duo of Coco Yoshizawa and Liz Akama finished with smiles on their faces and gold and silver medals, respectively.

As for the swimming events, Tomoyuki Matsushita's silver medal performance in the 400-meter individual medley was impressive.

*Tomoyuki Matsushita (left), winner of the men's 400m individual medley, and coach Hiromasa Hirai holding the silver medal that Matsushita won, July 28 in Paris (Photo provided by Coach Hirai)*

How the Crowds Add To the Games

Returning to the skateboarding venue, the crowd was another impressive feature. When Yoshizawa landed a big trick, competing athletes from various countries pumped their fists in celebration and members of the large crowd did likewise.

*Coco Yoshizawa (left), who won the gold medal in the women's street skateboarding event at the Paris Olympics, and Liz Akama, who won the silver medal, on July 28 in Paris. (©Kyodo)*

Kano won his gold medal in epee fencing while enjoying the completely unfamiliar environment at the Grand Palais in Paris. The competition venue was filled with fluttering tricolor flags. He and his competitors always remained the focus of attention, but large crowds make the drama of victory or defeat all the more compelling.

After winning the gold medal in the men's individual epee fencing event at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Koki Kano poses for a photo with the Japanese flag behind him at the Grand Palais on July 28 (©Sankei by Ryosuke Kawaguchi)

France has become a major judo power and its population of active judoka at 500,000 is four times that of Japan. That explains why the air of excitement at the judo venues was all the more palpable.

In the quarterfinals, Tsunoda bested the popular French judoka Shirine Boukli to applause so thunderous that the temporary stands shook. Her momentum carried her on to the gold medal. After winning her final match, Tsunoda quietly bowed before stepping off the mat to rousing applause. In stark contrast, there was a hush during the award ceremony and many members of the audience were moved to tears as they listened to Japan's national anthem.

*Uta Abe loses to an Uzbek player at the Champ de Mars Arena (©Sankei by Keisuke Mizushima)*

For a Brother and Sister, Love From the Crowd

One of the most memorable scenes in the early days of these Olympics involved Uta Abe, who competed in the women's 52-kilogram class. She and her older brother were expected to win gold medals to match those they won in Tokyo.

After suffering an unexpected defeat in the second round, Uta stepped off the mat with a dazed, confused expression on her face before completely breaking down and dissolving into tears. The crowd stood up and shouted "Uta, Uta, Uta" in unison, the volume swelling as they sought to console her and help her stop crying.

*Japan's Hifumi Abe poses with his gold medal after winning the men's -66kg judo final match against Brazil's Willian Lima at Champ-de-Mars Arena* on *Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris. (©AP/Eugene Hoshiko)*

This feeling carried over to her older brother's championship match, as when he stepped on the tatami the crowd began chanting, "Hifumi, Hifumi, Hifumi." In France, where judo is incredibly popular, the Abe siblings became the hero and heroine of the tournament.

Hifumi brilliantly fulfilled the hopes of his little sister and many members of the crowd by winning his second gold medal. When asked how things were different from the Tokyo Olympics where there were no crowds, he answered, "These are what the Olympics are supposed to be."

The Abe siblings' drama would never have been possible without the crowd in attendance. Now more than ever we feel strong disappointment that the Tokyo Olympics could not be "what the Olympics are supposed to be."

Check out the updated medal table on the Paris Games' official website.

Learn more about the Japanese athletes at the Games through SportsLook's Paris 2024 coverage.