Judo Facts: 

• Judo is always one of the first Olympic events to sell out of tickets, and more countries participate in Judo than all other Olympic sports except Track and Field. There are 197 member nations in the International Olympic Committee and 182 of them are members of the International Judo Federation.
• The Red and White Judo tournament was started by Jigoro Kano in 1884 and continues today as one of the longest running sports events in the world, predating the Modern Olympic Games by 12 years.
• According to the American College of Sports Medicine, Judo is the safest contact sport for children under age 13.
• According to the International Judo Federation, Judo is the most widely practiced martial art in the world.
• U.S. Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell was captain of the 1964 US Olympic Judo Team.
• Former WWF Wrestler "Bad News Brown" is Allen Coage, 1976 Olympic Bronze Medalist.
• Actress Hillary Wolf (Home Alone I and II) was a Judo Olympian for the USA, and actor James Cagney was a black belt in Judo.
• President Theodore Roosevelt became a brown belt in Judo during his administration and built a small dojo in the White House.
• William Hague, leader of the Conservative Party in the UK, also practices Judo at the Budokwai in London.
• Russian president Vladimir Putin, a high ranking black belt, said his favorite Judo techniques are tsuri-komi-goshi and tai-otoshi. Here is a quick video clip of him on the mat performing a throw.
• Oxana Fedorova of Russia, who was crowned Miss Universe 2002, practices Judo in her home town of St. Petersburg. Fedorova is a police lieutenant and is studying law at the St. Petersburg Police Academy.

This article and more outstanding Judo information can be found on Judo Information Site.

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