Tenri University graduate Tadahiro Nomura became the first judoka to win three Olympic gold medals when he defeated Georgia's Nestor Khergiani in the final in the men's 60-kilogram category.

He was holding his opponent down on the mat when the five minutes came to an end. Then he rolled over on to his back, looking relieved, and raised his arms above his head to celebrate modestly.

That was a moment when he was freed from all pressure. He had a long break after the Sydney Games, but he wanted to have another go. He was well aware of people's high expectations.

Mr. Nomura attended Tenri High School and Tenri University before going to graduate school at Nara University of Education. He won his first gold medal in Atlanta in 1996 when he was a fourth-year student at Tenri University. He defended the title in Sydney in 2000. After that, he took 26 months off before returning to competitive judo in November 2002.

He began his first bout in Athens rather cautiously, but after building up a comfortable lead, he gained an ippon by a textbook seoinage (shoulder throw), his trademark throw, 2 minutes, 46 seconds into the contest. Thereafter, he gave full play to his explosive combination of speed and technique, finishing his third bout in 53 seconds and the next bout in just 14 seconds.

His opponent in the semifinals was Mongolian judoka Khashbaatar Tsagaanbaatar, who had advanced by beating last year's world championships winner. The Olympic champion sent him crashing backward by a spectacular ouchigari (major inner reaping) technique after 23 seconds.

He had previously had a number of bouts with Mr. Khergiani, and they knew each other's techniques only too well. Although the Japanese star could not execute an ippon throw during the five minutes, he continually attempted attacking techniques and ended the contest well ahead. He was entirely deserving of the honor when he won the historic third consecutive Olympic gold medal.