The Japanese judokas dominated the last Grand Slam of the year, winning 13 out of the 14 gold medals in the competition.
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00:00Welcome back to Tokyo, the final stop of the 2024 IJF World Judo Tour.
00:07As the crowds poured into the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, there was a special treat for the young fans in attendance,
00:15as two of them got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go head-to-head with two Olympic champions,
00:22Sanudo Natsumi and Nagase Takanori.
00:25In the medal matches, the under-81 kilogram category saw Fujiwara Sotaro get Japan off to the perfect start.
00:33Mr. Vlad Marinescu, IJF Director General, was on hand to award the medals.
00:39At under 70 kilograms, Mayu Honda left it until deep into golden score to throw her compatriot for Ippon.
00:46She was awarded her medal by Olympic champion Mr. Kosei Inoue.
00:51I was able to hear the loud cheers and voices of my fans and supporters.
00:59I was so happy that I was able to win and show that I won to my supporters.
01:04At under 90 kilograms, an excellent Wazari from Sanchiro Murao saw him claim the title and in the hopes of Georgia's Luka Maisuradze.
01:15Mr. Almaz Alsenov, Harvest Group CEO, awarded the gold.
01:21I'm very happy that we get positive reactions. Judo, as you know, originated in Japan
01:29and it's important that our judokas spread this wonderful sport to the rest of the world.
01:36At under 78 kilograms, Kurena Ikeda took the win with some brilliant groundwork.
01:42The medals were awarded by IJF Sports Director, Mr. Skanda Hashisha.
01:48At under 100 kilograms, Matvei Kanivkovski cleverly armlocked Italy's Pirelli to take the Tokyo title.
01:55He was awarded the gold medal by the Japanese national team.
02:01In the over 78 kilogram category, Mao Arai was imperious, a hold down for gold.
02:07She was awarded her medal by Mr. Silvio Acacio Borges, president of Brazilian Judo.
02:13In the over 100 kilograms, it was Kanta Nakano who eventually came out on top with this gold medal.
02:22He was awarded the gold by Mr. Shin Koyamada, Guardian Girls International CEO.
02:28What an event it has been to bring 2024 to a close, encapsulating all that is Judo.
02:34Action, drama, respect, discipline and friendship.
02:37Thank you, Tokyo. We'll be back in two weeks.
02:51for more fantastic Judo action.