is a Japanese

judoka is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

. He won the gold medal in the under 100 kg class at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

. He is well known for his specialty throws, Uchi Mata (, inner thigh throw) and Ōuchi gari (, major inner reap). He is considered by the Judo community as one of the best competitive

. His notable accomplishments include three golds at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

and All Japan Championships (one of four Judokas who have accomplished this). His older brother, Tomokazu Inoue is also judoka and former Asian champion. He is affiliated with Sohgo Security Services (Alsok), a security firm.

Biography

Kosei Inoue won the gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in the -100 kg division, most notably doing so by winning every single match by

ippon is the highest score a fighter can achieve in a Japanese martial arts ''ippon-wazari'' contest, usually kendo, judo, karate or jujitsu. In Judo In Judo, an ippon may be scored for a throw, a pin, a choke or a jointlock. For throws, the four ...

. At the victory ceremony, he carried a photograph of his recently-deceased mother onto the podium. At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Kosei Inoue was chosen as the captain of the Japanese team. He was highly favored to win another gold in the u100 kg division. However, he suffered a major upset and did not place. Elco van der Geest of the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

(2002 European Champion) defeated Inoue at the last minute with a drop seoi nage (shoulder throw) in the quarter final. Movlud Miraliyev of

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

countered Inoue's ''o-uchi gari'' with a ''ura nage'' to win the match during Repechage Round 3. In 2005 he won the gold at the Jigoro Kano International Cup, which is an A level contest with many former world and Olympic medalists. He did not compete until 2007 because of a shoulder injury in 2005 and returned at +100 kg At the 2008

All-Japan Judo Championships is a judo tournament held every year in Japan. The men's tournament is held in Nippon Budokan on 29 April and the women's tournament (dubbed "Empress cup All-Japan women's Judo championships") is held in Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium in April. T ...

, Inoue lost to

Yohei Takai is a Japanese judoka. He won a bronze medal at the open category of the 2005 World Judo Championships. He is from Kanagawa Prefecture. After graduation from Kokushikan University, he joined to Asahi Kasei which former world champions, Hirosh ...

by ippon, which ended his hopes of joining the Olympic team headed for Beijing. He promptly announced his retirement from international competition. Inoue was replaced by

Satoshi Ishii is a Japanese-born judoka, mixed martial artist, kickboxer and submission grappler who has held Croatian citizenship since 2019. Ishii won the gold medal in Olympic Judo at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, a silver medal at the ...

, who defeated

Keiji Suzuki is a Japanese judoka. He won the Olympic gold medal in the heavyweight (+100 kg) division in 2004. He is also a two-time world champion. He is noted for being a remarkably small judoka in the heavyweight division; he also regularly com ...

in the final bout of the 2008 AJJC (International Herald Tribune, April 29, 2008) and won a gold medal in the 2008 Olympic Games.

Personal life

Inoue married Japanese actress and television personality Aki Higashihara on January 14, 2008. After announcing his retirement from competitive judo, Inoue was selected by the Japan Olympic Committee to travel to the UK in order to learn English. After living in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland (and training with the Scottish-based GB team members) for 6 months he moved to London to teach at the Budokwai for 12 months before returning to Japan as the Men's Heavyweight coach for the National team. Following Japan's least successful Olympics for Judo at the

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Olympic Games, it was announced that Inoue would succeed

Shinichi Shinohara is a retired Japanese judo and winner of the gold medal at the 1999 World Judo Championships in Birmingham. To Shinohara's disappointment, French champion David Douillet did not compete at Birmingham due to back injury; Shinohara was quoted as s ...

as the new head coach of the national team.

Achievements

References

External links

* * *
Judo Legends

Competition videos of Kosei Inoue
on Judovision
Kosei Inoue podcast: "My Life in Judo"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Inoue, Kosei 1978 births Living people Tokai University alumni People from Miyakonojō Sportspeople from Miyazaki Prefecture Japanese male judoka Olympic judoka for Japan Judoka at the 2000 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2004 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Japan Jacket wrestlers Japanese expatriates in the United Kingdom People associated with Edinburgh Olympic medalists in judo Asian Games medalists in judo World judo champions Judoka at the 1998 Asian Games Judoka at the 2002 Asian Games Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Asian Games gold medalists for Japan Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games Oath takers at the Olympic Games