2008 Olympic gold medalist, Satoshi Ishii to seek spot on Japan’s 2020 Olympic wrestling team

2008 Olympic gold medalist, Satoshi Ishii (+100kg)

Fresh off of his April 16th, MMA victory over Heath Herring at Rizin in Yokohama, Japan, former Olympic judo gold medalist, Satoshi Ishii has announced (source: Nikkan Sports News) that he has set his sights on making Japan’s Olympic wrestling team for the 2020 Olympics. A day after his victory at Rizin, Ishii stated to the press, “I can no longer try for a spot on Japan’s judo team, so I will try my hand at wrestling. Actually, I entered an amateur tournament last year.” The tournament he was referring to was an amateur tournament in Holland, where he trains his striking for MMA. However, he was the only entrant in his category and therefore has yet to have a single match in amateur wrestling.

“I chose wrestling because it is good all-around practice, and at the moment, there are no major contenders at heavyweight in Asia. When I return to Holland, I want to compete in a wrestling tournament as well as challenge myself in amateur boxing and other competitions”, said the former Olympic champion (rough translation – source).   This is not the first time he has announced plans to make a repeat appearance at the Olympics. Several years ago, USA Judo announced on their webpage that Ishii was seeking US citizenship in order to compete for the US in judo at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Of course, that never materialized.

Though the often-criticized Ishii has obviously fallen out of favor with the All-Japan Judo Federation and the Japanese press, I’d like to personally say that I wish him all the best in his quest to make it to the 2020 Olympics. Yes, he made some PR blunders that put him at odds with many in the judo world, but he was after all, only 21 when he won his Olympic title. That said, I am going to file this one under the “believe it when I see it” category as the prospects of him competing for Japan in wrestling seem to be quite a stretch at the moment.