The 101-Year-Old American Who Made Judo An Olympic Sport

At the Tokyo Olympics, Japan has more or less dominated the competition in a martial art that originated in Japan -- judo. But it turns out, it was actually an American who is responsible for judo becoming an Olympic sport in the first place. The Athletic's Daniel Brown recently sat down with the now 101-year-old Californian, Yoshihiro "Yosh" Uchida, to talk about his incredible life journey -- from growing up on a tomato farm to becoming a judo pioneer and now an Olympic legend (with a whole lot of challenges along the way) -- and why he doesn't plan to let the pandemic stop him from getting back onto the mat or continuing to grow the sport for future generations. Plus, the untold story of Uchida's impact on an NFL coaching legend.

Read Dan Brown's full story about Yosh Uchida's incredible life:

https://theathletic.com/2716391/2021/07/26/2021-olympics-judo-yosh-uchida/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.