SYDNEY -- After eight long years, Ryoko Tamura finally has the gold medal that has always been just beyond her grasp, while Tadahiro Nomura completed a golden double for Japan on the opening day of the Sydney Olympics judo competition.
Four-time world champion Tamura threw down Russia's Lioubov Brouletova for an "ippon " victory only 38 seconds into the women's 48-kg final at the Sydney Exhibition Center to give Japan its first gold medal at the Sydney Games.
Minutes later, Nomura completed a double for Japan in yet another missed-it-if-you-blink final as he needed only 14 seconds to topple South Korea's Jung Bu Kyung for his second straight Olympic championship.