For Ryoko Tani, formerly Tamura, having her own family beats every gold medal and champion title!
She has been there when judo became an official sport in the Olympics; she was able to compete for most of them. She started in 1992 in Barcelona.
She became an icon not just for judo but for the Japanese women as well. They were relatively small by nature but she proved to all her competitors that a Japanese woman can bring down even Mt, Fuji if she wanted to.
She was sixteen year old when she started and although she did not win the gold then she gained the respect of the judo international community. They knew she would come back and get what was hers. She did so in the next four years.
It is ironic that another sixteen year old ended her winning streak. Korean Kye Sun-hi of North Korea was able to bring her down. But she was optimistic and kept a mantra that seemed to say that the only option was to get a gold medal.
And gold medal she did have. She was even able to defend her title in Sydney back in 2000. She became the first judoka to have been able to defend her title when she won against the French Frédérique Jossinet.
With her husband, Yoshitomo Tani, and their baby, Yoshiaki, Ryoko is able to find the strength that she needs yet again dream of gold.
She is considering competing in the 2008 Olympic Games, but it will depend on her results in tournaments such as the 2007 All-Japan Olympic qualifier or the Rio de Janeiro qualifier.
From the 8th August to 24th August 2008 we can enjoy World Olympics 2008 from Bejing, China. Read more about the head players in Judo at: judo2008.info .
This site will bring us great news from the Olympics period!
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