Paralympic Athlete Resources

Judo has been part of the Paralympic Games since the 1988 Games in Seoul with women’s events being added in Athens in 2004. Team USA has won medals at every Paralympic Games since 1988 – a total of 22 medals, including gold medal wins by Scott Moore (73kg) and Kevin Szott (+100kg) at the 2000 Sydney Paralympic Games.

At the 2020 Paralympic Games, 136 athletes from 41 nations competed in the Games, fighting in seven men’s and six women’s weight categories.

Paralympic judo follows all standard judo rules and regulations with the following modifications:

• At the beginning of a match, both competitors start with a loose grip on each other’s judo suits (as opposed to able-bodied judo in which the competitors are not touching at the start of a match).
• Judges will shout out when contestants get too close to the edge of the mat.
• Competitors must attack, defend, and maintain balance during a match in order to score points by using certain attack and counterattack techniques.