Judo at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games:

David Douillet (FRA) had been World Champion in 1995 in both heavyweight and open class. He was favored but the 1992 gold medalist, Davit Khakhaleishvili (GEO), and silver medalist, Naoya Ogawa (JPN), were expected to give him stiff opposition. Khakhaleishvili never got to compete. He went to the Georgia World Congress Center for the weigh-in only to find that it was being held at the Olympic Village. Although he tried to get back to the Village, he was late for the weigh-in and was disqualified. It was a silly ruling as heavyweights are allowed unlimited weight. Douillet and Ogawa met in the Pool A final, with Douillet winning a close match only by shido. The final against Spain’s Ernesto Pérez was much easier, with Douillet using uchi-mata to win by ippon in 2:03. Douillet would win his fourth World Championship in the heavyweight class in 1997.