Noriko Mizoguchi ( Jap. 溝口 紀 子 ; July 23, 1971 , Iwata ) - Japanese judoist of the featherweight category, played for the Japanese team in the late 1980s and mid-1990s. Silver medalist of the Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, participant of the Olympic Games in Atlanta, bronze medalist of the Asian Championship, winner of many tournaments of national and international significance.
| Noriko Mizoguchi | ||||||||||||||
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| general information | ||||||||||||||
| Citizenship |  Japan | |||||||||||||
| Date of Birth | July 23, 1971 (48 years old) | |||||||||||||
| Place of Birth | Iwata , Japan | |||||||||||||
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| Growth | 160 cm | |||||||||||||
| Weight category | lightweight (up to 52 kg) | |||||||||||||
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Biography
Noriko Mizoguchi was born July 23, 1971 in the city of Iwata , Shizuoka Prefecture . She began to actively engage in judo in early childhood while studying in elementary school, later she continued her studies in high school and then at the University of Saitama [1] .
First announced itself in 1985, taking third place in the women's judo championship of Japan. A year later, it was already the second, a year later she repeated this achievement and received bronze at the international home tournament in Fukuoka. The first serious success at the adult international level was in 1988, when, becoming the champion of Japan, she became a member of the Japanese national team and attended the Asian Championships in Damascus, from where she brought a bronze dignity award won in the featherweight category. In addition, this season received silver and gold at international tournaments in Fukuoka and Paris, respectively.
In 1989, Mizoguchi defended the title of champion of the national championship and won at the World Cup in Paris. The following season, she became the second in the national championship, but she won the tournament in Fukuoka, and also won bronze at the British Open and at the World Cup in German Rüsselsheim. Thanks to a series of successful performances, she was awarded the right to defend the country's honor at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona - she gained the upper hand over all four rivals on the way to the finals, but was defeated by Spanish Almudena Munoz in the decisive match and thus won the silver Olympic medal.
In 1993, Mizoguchi took second place in the standings of the Japanese championship and third place at the World Cup in Munich. A year later, she was only third in her country, but she won the world cup in Paris and won a silver medal at the international tournament in Fukuoka. In the 1995 season, having regained the title of champion of Japan, she performed at the home world championships in Chiba, however, she did not achieve much success here, already at the stage of 1/16 final she was defeated by the German Tanya Münzinger . Being among the leaders of the judo team of Japan, she successfully qualified for the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta - this time she did not get to the prize places, she lost to Korean Jong Sung Young in the quarterfinals and Belgian Marisabel Lomba in the consolation match for third place.
After the Olympics in the United States, Noriko Mizoguchi for some time remained in the main team of the Japanese national team and continued to take part in major international tournaments. So, in 1997, in the featherweight category, she won the World Cup stage in Austrian Leonding, gaining the upper hand over all four opponents. Soon after the end of these competitions she decided to end the career of a professional athlete.
Notes
- ↑ 溝口 紀 子 MIZOGUCHI Noriko - 教員 紹 介 ／ 静岡 文化 芸 術 大学 ： SUAC unopened (link not available) . Date of treatment November 15, 2015. Archived May 21, 2009.
Links
- Noriko Mizoguchi - Olympic statistics at Sports-Reference.com
- Noriko Mizoguchi - profile on judoinside.com