Hitoshi SAITO

Japanese judoka Hitoshi Saito won gold medals at the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games as a heavyweight. His 1984 gold was the first Japanese one after 20 years. He was 1983 World Champion in the open class, and was runner-up in the heavyweight division. He won the All-Japan Judo Championships in 1988 in the open class, after the retirement of Yasuhiro Yamashita. After his active career Saito became an instructor for Kokushikan University and became chairman of the All Japan Judo Federation. He was also coach of the Japanese judo team at the 2004 Olympic Games. In 2015 he died of bile duct cancer aged only 54 years.