Olympic Medals: an Abundant, Varied Collection for Team Japan at Paris 2024

For the second consecutive Summer Games, Japanese athletes captured Olympic medals every single day they were up for grabs.

A remarkable achievement.

And remember this: At the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021, Japan finished with a national-record 27 gold medals (trailing only the United States and China with 39 and 38, respectively) and 58 total medals.

Japan wrapped up the 2024 Paris Olympics with 45 total medals ―20 gold, 12 silver and 13 bronze. And once again, only Team USA and China (with 40 apiece) had more gold medals than Japan.

More than 70% of Japan's Olympic medals in France between July 27 and August 11 came from five sports: wrestling (11, including eight gold), judo (8), fencing (5), skateboarding (4) and artistic gymnastics (4). 

Japan also had a pair of medals in both table tennis and badminton. In total, its athletes collected medals in 16 of the 32 sports on the Paris 2024 program. Another outstanding feat showcasing the depth of the sporting talent in Japan.

During a ceremony to honor Japan's Olympians in Tokyo on Tuesday, August 13, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida paid tribute to the athletes for their inspiring pursuit of excellence.

"You resolutely continued to take on challenges, [and] you have inspired everyone, and for that I am truly grateful," Kishida was quoted as saying by Kyodo News at the prime minister's office.

On the final day of the Paris Games, Kosei Inoue, Japan's deputy chef de mission, highlighted the significance of the nation's 45-medal haul.

"We had the best result at an Olympics outside home soil," Inoue was quoted as saying by Reuters. "[And] we see this as a very big achievement."

Viewpoints from Athletes Who Earned Olympic Medals

After experiencing the global spotlight and massive media attention in Paris and nearby locales, Japanese Olympians participated in a news conference to highlight the delegation's return home on August 14. The team was officially disbanded at a ceremony on the same day.

Two-time judo gold medalist Hifumi Abe, a men's 66-kilogram division champion, spoke about the honor of representing Japan at the Olympics. During the media gathering, Abe also shared his thoughts on what he believed Team Japan accomplished in France. (Note: Japan did not medal at the surfing competitions held in Tahiti, French Polynesia.)

"I think our national team boosted Japan's spirits and encouraged people across the country," Abe was quoted as saying by The Yomiuri Shimbun. 

The 27-year-old judoka is already looking ahead to the 2028 Los Angeles Games with a clear goal in mind.

"I'm going to work hard to win the title a third consecutive time," Abe told reporters.

In France, there was a strong bond and positive energy among Japanese athletes from various sports, according to fencer Misaki Emura, who took home a bronze medal in the women's team sabre competition.

"We were able to elevate each other beyond our respective sports and it turned out to be a really good Olympics," Emura said, according to Kyodo News.

Olympic Medal Breakdown

Japan medaled in 16 of the 32 sports on the Olympic program.

Here's where the 45 medals came from:

• Artistic Gymnastics (4)
• Athletics, aka track and field (1)
• Badminton (2)
• Breaking (1)
• Diving (1)
• Equestrian (1)
• Fencing (5)
• Golf (1)
• Judo (8)
• Modern Pentathlon (1)
• Sailing (1)
• Skateboarding (4)
• Sport climbing (1)
• Swimming (1)
• Table tennis (2)
• Wrestling (11)

Noteworthy: Japan earned Olympic medals in all three fencing disciplines for the first time at the Summer Games. This included gold in men's team foil, silver in men's team epee and bronze in women's team foil and women's team sabre.

In skateboarding, Japan increased its overall medal haul in the sport in Olympic competitions to nine. That included a combined five gold, from Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024.

Repeating as Olympic Gold Medalists

In addition to Abe, who defended his 66-kg judo title on July 28, Japan also had repeat Olympic winners in men's street skateboarding (Yuto Horigome) and in the men's 81-kg judo division (Takanori Nagase).

How did Horigome react after securing gold at the second straight Olympiad?

"It means everything," Horigome said, according to The Associated Press, on July 29 at the La Concorde urban sports complex. The 25-year skateboarding star then said, "It feels like a dream, a living dream. It's crazy. Tokyo, no one was there, no crowds, so I'm very happy this time [with] all the fans here. It's a special moment."

And what was Nagase's reaction?

"This is the tournament to decide the real champion of the world," Nagase told reporters after defeating Georgia's Tato Grigalashvili in the gold-medal match at the Champ-de-Mars Arena on July 31. "My focus was to win here in Paris. I kept believing in myself even after I couldn't win for a stretch."

Paris 2024:  Noteworthy Facts About Japan's Olympic Medals

There are individual stories connected to each of the 45 Olympic medals. And there are also facts that underscore the rarity of some of these accomplishments.

For example, Japan's bronze medal in the equestrian team eventing (show jumping, dressage and cross country) competition on July 29 at the Chateau de Versailles was its first in the sport since Takeichi Nishi, better known as Baron Nishi, grabbed the gold in equestrian jumping at the 1932 Los Angeles Games. Ninety-two years later, Japan's quartet of team members: Ryuzo Kitajima, Yoshiaki Oiwa, Kazuma Tomoto and Toshiyuki Tanaka.

Teenager Rikuto Tamai became Japan's first Olympic medalist in a diving event. The 17-year-old placed second in the men's 10-meter platform final on August 10.

Taishu Sato now holds the distinction of being the first Japanese to nab a medal in modern pentathlon, a sport that has been a continuous part of the Olympics since 1912. Sato claimed the silver medal on the next-to-last day of the Paris Games.

Wrestler Kenichiro Fumita, winner in the 60-kg division on August 6, hauled in Japan's first gold in the Greco-Roman discipline since 1984. 

"Even if I won at the world championships, I didn't feel like I reached the top," Fumita was quoted as saying by Kyodo News. "Winning at the Olympics must be the top of everything."

Elsewhere, Keiju Okada and Miho Yoshioka gave Japan its first Olympic sailing medal since 2004 by finishing runner-up in the inaugural mixed dinghy final at Marseille Marina on August 8.

A Triumphant Debut for Japan in Breaking

In the French capital, B-girl Ami (given name Ami Yuasa) was the winner in the women's breaking final on August 9, producing an impressive run of six victories to reach the top. 

The influence of hip-hop culture brought a youthful vibe to Paris 2024 with the addition of breaking (also known as breakdancing). But breaking will not be a part of 2028 Los Angeles Games, meaning Paris may have been the final Olympic hurrah for B-girl Ami and many others who promoted the sport with enthusiasm (and earned Olympic medals) in Paris.

Japan's Most Successful Paris Olympian

The all-around title is the most significant individual title in gymnastics. 

Which is why there's so much pride attached to the title. 

Rising star Shinnosuke Oka collected Japan's fourth straight gold in the event on July 31. In doing so, he joined Kohei Uchimura (London 2012, Rio 2016) and Daiki Hashimoto (Tokyo 2020) as recent winners of the men's all-around.

Oka credited teammate Hashimoto's encouragement as a helpful factor for him during the pressure-packed competition.

"Daiki never stopped telling me that I should have confidence and that I should do my best, right from the start of the competition, and that gave me confidence and strength," Oka said, according to The Associated Press.

Two days earlier, Oka helped lead Japan to a dramatic victory by 0.532 points over runner-up China in the team competition.

On August 5, Oka captured his third gold medal in Paris, conquering the field in the men's horizontal bar final. He also received the bronze in the parallel bars competition on the same day.

Oka departed France with twice as many Olympic medals as other members of Team Japan.

Olympic Gold Medals: From Start to Finish

Judoka Natsumi Tsunoda's gold medal-winning victory in the women's 48-kg final on July 27 was Japan's first medal of the Paris Games. It was also the nation's 500th Summer Olympic medal, with the first one earned at the 1920 Antwerp Games. 

On July 28, Hifumi Abe became an Olympic judo champion for the second time. Coco Yoshizawa, 14, won the women's street skateboarding event and fencer Koki Kano bagged the men's epee individual title. 

Yuto Horigome's aforementioned skateboarding triumph happened on July 29. Also on the same day, Daiki Hashimoto, Kazuma Kaya, Wataru Tanigawa, Shinnosuke Oka and Takaaki Sugino won the men's gymnastics team final. 

On July 30, Takanori Nagase defended his men's 90-kg title in judo.

Gymnast Shinnosuke Oka added the men's all-around crown to his medal collection on July 31.

On August 4, Japan ended its three-day gold-medal drought with a triumph in the men's fencing team foil final. The triumphant team featured the following members: Takahiro Shikine, Kazuki Iimura, Kyosuke Matsuyama and Yudai Nagano. 

Shinnosuke Oka grabbed gold in the men's horizontal bar final on August 5. 

For Oka, he was uncertain about the event's outcome until it concluded. "I really didn't know what was going to happen until the very end," he was quoted as saying by NHK. "But I was able to do my best without making any mistakes, which led to the gold."

More Gold Medals for Japan in Latter Stages of Paris 2024 

On August 6, Kenichiro Fumita became an Olympic Greco-Roman champion (in the 60-kg weight class) for the first time.

Nao Kusaka followed Fumita's Greco-Roman wrestling success by winning the men's 77-kg title on August 7. 

On August 8, Olympic debutante Akari Fujinami, unbeaten in 137 bouts in a row, claimed the women's freestyle wrestling 53-kg gold.  

B-girl Ami's historic win in breaking was one of Japan's top highlights on August 9. For Team Japan, the day's medal count also included a pair of wrestling titles: Rei Higuchi (men's 57-kg division) and Tsugumi Sakurai (women's 57-kg weight class).

On August 10, women's javelin thrower Haruka Kitaguchi, the reigning world champion, captured Japan's first-ever Olympic gold in the event. The effervescent athlete had the day's top throw on her first attempt (65.80 meters) at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. Elsewhere, Sakura Motoki added to Japan's successful showing in wrestling by winning the women's freestyle 62-kg final.

Japan closed out the Paris Olympics with two more wrestling titles (the nation's seventh and eighth in Paris, an increase of three from its Tokyo 2020 wrestling title count) on the final day, August 11.

Kotaro Kiyooka triumphed in the men's 65-kg freestyle final and Yuka Kagami outpointed American foe Kennedy 3-1 to win the women's 76-kg title on mat 3 at the Champ-de-Mars Arena at 2:17 PM local time. As a result, Japan finished with 45 Olympic medals at the Paris Games.  

RELATED:

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• [ODDS and EVENS] Expect a Plethora of Olympic Medals for Japan in Paris

Author: Ed Odeven

Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.