Double Olympic Champion.
Lasha BEKAURI of Georgia has officially set a new record for his nation, winning two Olympic gold medals back to back in extraordinary fashion. Celebrating his 24th birthday only five days ago, he remains one of the youngsters on the IJF World Tour, and now one of the most successful.
Winning back to back titles is certainly no simple feat, and there were plenty desperate to stop the Georgian athlete, though none were capable. Only in the final was he scored against by Japanese rival, MURAO Sanshiro, who in fact but the first score on the board. Apparently this is just what Bekauri needed, a wake up call. After ceding to Murao, a sumi gaeshi response levelled the score. Now the pair were locked in and the Champ de Mars Arena came to life!
With Georgian President, Giorgi ATABEGASHVILI in the stands directly behind with athletes, coaches and family alike, the support was simply unrivalled as they hoped Bekauri would be their first gold medal.
For a split second, it looked as if it may all be over, a huge tani otoshi was executed by Murao, and somehow Bekauri managed to counter, hooking in for ko uchi gari and controlling the landing.
In the Tokyo Olympic Games, despite becoming Olympic Champion for the first time, he expressed his ultimate dream of taking the title more than once, possibly even three times. Now #2 is in the bag, Los Angeles will be calling his name.
Judoka
Author: Thea Cowen