Hifumi Abe
Won a 24-minute war to reach the Olympics
- Born
- August 9, 1997, Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan
- Nationality
Japan- Height
- 168 cm (5′6″)
- Stance
- Right
- Style
- Seoi nage specialist
- Weight
- 66 kg
- Active
- 2014–present
- Status
- Active · age 29
The medals
2 Olympic golds (+2 mixed-team silvers), 4 world titles
The story
ifumi Abe, a firefighter's son from Kobe, won the 2014 Youth Olympics and, at 17, beat reigning world champion Masashi Ebinuma on the way to winning the Tokyo Grand Slam. He won world titles at 66 kg in 2017 and 2018, but rival Joshiro Maruyama took the 2019 crown, and Japan settled its Olympic place with a one-off bout at the Kodokan in December 2020. Abe won it with ouchi gari after 20 minutes of golden score, 24 minutes in all. He then won Olympic gold in Tokyo on the same day as his sister Uta, took world titles again in 2022 and 2023, and retained his Olympic title in Paris in 2024. His main weapons are seoi nage and sode tsurikomi goshi.
Tap a technique with an arrow to learn how it works.
- Olympic champion, 66 kg (2020, 2024)
- World champion, 66 kg (2017, 2018, 2022, 2023)
- Youth Olympic champion, 66 kg (2014)
- Tokyo Grand Slam champion (2014, 2016, 2017, 2023, 2025)
Defining matches
- 2014WINvs Masashi Ebinuma (Tokyo Grand Slam semi-final, aged 17)
- 2020WINvs Joshiro Maruyama (one-off Olympic selection bout, ouchi gari after 20 minutes of golden score)
- 2021WINvs Vazha Margvelashvili (Tokyo 2020 Olympic 66 kg final)
- 2022WINvs Joshiro Maruyama (World Championships 66 kg final, Tashkent)
- 2024WINvs Willian Lima (Paris Olympic 66 kg final)
Abe's seoi nage and sode tsurikomi goshi both depend on getting his hips under the opponent's centre in one fast turn, so drill the turn-in footwork from both grips. His 24-minute win over Maruyama adds a second lesson: keep attacking cleanly deep into overtime and never give away the deciding penalty.
