Para judo will be held from September 5 to 7 at the Arena du Champ de Mars.
Para judo made its debut at the Paralympic Games in Seoul in 1988 for men and in Athens in 2004 for women. It is a discipline reserved for blind and visually impaired athletes. The rules of para judo are similar to those of Olympic judo, with four-minute bouts that can be extended by a golden score in the event of a tie at the end of regulation time. The ways to win the bout are also the same, by leading by wara-ari at the end of the four minutes, by ippon or to his opponent’s penalties, three shido. The main difference is the position of the athletes at the start of the fight. While in Olympic judo the opponents are at a distance and the first fight consists of grabbing the opponent’s judogi during the kumikatain para judo the two judokas grab the sleeve and the backhand of their opponent before the start of the fight, and do not let go during the entire confrontation.
A colored circle is also drawn on the tatami for visually impaired athletes to help them position themselves at the start of the fight. Blind judokas are brought to their starting position by a guide, and replaced during the fight by the referee.
Judo is rather a strong discipline of the French delegation, with twenty medals won in total, and many podiums in recent years. Flag bearer in Tokyo, Sandrine Martinet will notably try to win a third Paralympic medal in under 48 kg, after the silver in Athens in 2004 and the gold in Rio in 2016.
Classifications for para judo
The Para judo competitions at the Paralympic Games are divided into two, with different weight categories for each.
- D1: blind athletes
- D2: visually impaired athletes
The para judo program
The para judo competition will take place from September 5 to 7 at the Arena Champ de Mars.
- Thursday, September 5: less than 48 kg J1 and J2 (Women), less than 57 kg J1 (Women) and less than 60 kg J1 and J2 (Men)
- Friday September 6: less than 57 kg J2 (Women), less than 70 kg J1 and J2 (Women) and less than 73 kg J1 and J2 (Men)
- Saturday September 7: more than 70 kg J1 and J2 (Women), less than 90 kg J1 and J2 (Men) and more than 90 kg J1 and J2 (Men)