Ryoko Tani
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Women's Judo | ||
Competitor for  Japan
| ||
| Olympic Games | ||
| Gold | 2000 Sydney | - 48kg |
| Gold | 2004 Athens | - 48kg |
| Silver | 1992 Barcelona | - 48kg |
| Silver | 1996 Atlanta | - 48kg |
| Bronze | 2008 Beijing | - 48kg |
| World Championships | ||
| Gold | 2007 Rio de Janeiro | -48 kg |
| Gold | 2003 Osaka | -48 kg |
| Gold | 2001 Munich | -48 kg |
| Gold | 1999 Birmingham | -48 kg |
| Gold | 1997 Paris | -48 kg |
| Gold | 1995 Chiba | -48 kg |
| Gold | 1993 Hamilton | -48 kg |
| Bronze | 1991 Barcelona | -48 kg |
| Asian Games | ||
| Gold | 1994 Hiroshima | -48 kg |
| Asian Championships | ||
| Bronze | 1991 Osaka | -48 kg |
| Universiade | ||
| Gold | 1995 Fukuoka | -48 kg |
Ryoko Tani (谷 亮子 Tani Ryōko, née Tamura (田村), born September 6, 1975 in Fukuoka, Fukuoka) is a Japanese female former judoka and current (2012) politician.
She used to work for Toyota Motor Corporation.
Career
She is commonly known as 'Yawara-chan'or 'Tawara' (from the title character of Yawara!, a popular judo manga). Since she won the International Women's Judo Championships in 1990, 'Yawara-chan' has gone on to win the event every year. She has a record seven world titles and she brought home the 48 kg-category gold medal from Sydney Olympics in 2000 and the Athens Olympics in 2004.
Her 84-match winning streak was finally broken in 1996 by North Korea's Kye Sun Hui. She holds a fourth dan.
In 2003, she married Yoshitomo Tani, an Olympian and professional baseball player then with the Orix Blue Wave (now with the Yomiuri Giants). The wedding reception reportedly cost $3 million.[1]
In Beijing in 2008 Tani, who had not been beaten in a major international competition since the Atlanta Games in 1996, saw her hopes of a third-straight gold evaporate when judges awarded penalty points to Romania's Alina Dumitru after both competitors failed to show much aggression. Looking stunned, Tani fought desperately after the final controversial penalty call, but with only seconds left she had no time to mount an attack.[2]
She defeated Russia's Lyudmila Bogdanova for bronze. She gained her fifth Olympic medal with the bronze.
Along with Cuba's Driulys González and Australia's Mária Pekli, Tani became in 2008 the first female judoka to compete at five Olympics. The only other judokas to compete at five Olympics are Belgian Robert Van de Walle and Puerto Rican judoka-bobsledder Jorge Bonnet.
Popularity and selection controversy
Tani has been very popular in Japan. The characters of Ryoko Izumo and Ryoko Kano from the World Heroes and Fighter's History fighting video games series, respectively, are both loosely based on her. Also, the birth of her first child, Yoshiaki, was a major press event with camera crews waiting for the first glimpse of her emergence from the hospital.
Tani lost the 2007 All-Japan Weight Class Judo Championship, which doubles as the qualifier for Olympics and the World Championships on those years when the events take place, but was selected as Japan's representative anyway by the All Japan Judo Federation (AJJF). She then won the gold medal in the Rio de Janeiro World Championships. Tani lost the All-Japan again in April 2008, to 21-year-old Emi Yamagishi. Again, the AJJF selected Tani for Japan's team in place of Yamagishi. The AJJF refused to answer questions about Tani's selection after the decision, but later said that Tani was selected because "She is especially strong against international opponents". The selection prompted Philip Brasor, media commentator for the Japan Times to ask "...maybe Tani is the better choice, but why have qualifying bouts in the first place?".[3] The AJFF uses qualifying bouts as only one criterion considered for selection, with performance in international events as another.
Political career
| Ryoko Tani 谷 亮子 | |
|---|---|
| Member of the House of Councillors | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office July 26, 2010 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 6, 1975 Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan |
| Political party | People's Life First |
| Spouse(s) | Yoshitomo Tani (2003–present) |
| Children | 2 sons |
| Alma mater | Teikyo University |
On May 10, 2010 the Democratic Party announced that Tani would represent the party as a proportional candidate in the Summer 2010 House of Councillors election. Tani stated that she still intended to pursue her judo career, but would like to help "build a nation everyone desires" as a member of the Upper House.[4] Tani won the seat in question.
In July 2012, she left the Democratic Party and joined the People's Life First.
See also
Notes
- ↑ Martin, Alex, "DPJ to field judo star Tani as candidate", Japan Times, May 10, 2010, p. 1.
- ↑ http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/thscrip/print.pl?file=2008081061261800.htm&date=2008/08/10/&prd=th&
- ↑ Brasor, Philip, "Celebrity rules as the Olympics strays far from its ideal", Japan Times, August 10, 2008, p. 11.
- ↑ Martin, Alex, "DPJ to field judo star Tani as candidate", Japan Times, May 10, 2010, p. 1.
External links
- Ryoko Tani at Sports Reference
- Ryoko Tani official page (Japanese)
- International Olympic Committee
- Videos of Ryoko Tani (judovision.org)
| Olympic Games | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Kumi Nakada |
Flagbearer for Japan Atlanta 1996 |
Succeeded by Kosei Inoue |
| ||||||