Hifumi Abe (阿部 一二三, Abe Hifumi, born 9 August 1997) is a Japanese judoka who competes in the Men's half-lightweight (66 kg) division.[2] He won two consecutive gold medals in the Men's 66 kg competition at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Olympics, as well as two silver medals in a row with the Japanese team in those games' judo mixed team events.[3][4][5] He is also a four-time world champion, having won the gold medal in his weight category at the World Judo Championships in 2017, 2018, 2022 and 2023.
Abe rose to prominence after becoming Youth Olympic champion in August 2014; an achievement followed by a silver medal in October at the World Juniors Championships in Fort Lauderdale. He subsequently won his first IJF senior competition, the Tokyo Grand Slam, in December 2014, at just 17 years old, unexpectedly beating the reigning world champion of his weight category and favorite, Masashi Ebinuma, in the semi-final.
- ^ Markus Knaup (21 February 2021). "Hifumi Abe". European Judo Union. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
- ^ IJF profile
- ^ "Judo - Men -66 kg Schedule". Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 27 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
- ^ "ABE Hifumi". Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ NEWS, KYODO. "Olympics: Hifumi Abe wins 2nd straight Olympic men's 66-kg judo gold". Kyodo News+. Retrieved 28 July 2024.