OLYMPICS/ ‘Fear of losing’ drives Hifumi Abe to back-to-back gold medals

By KOGO SHIOYA/ Staff Writer

July 29,スポニチ 日刊 スポーツ 2024 at 18:31 JST

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Hifumi Abe raises his arms in triumph after winning the gold medal in the men’s judo 66-kilogram weight class at Champ-de-Mars Arena during the Paris Olympics on July 28. (Jin Nishioka)

It's no surprise that top judoka all hate to lose, but teammates on the Japanese national team point to one member, saying, “That guy, especially.”

That "guy" is Hifumi Abe, 26, who claimed back-to-back Olympic titles in the men’s 66-kilogram judo division at the Paris Olympics on July 28.

Abe is aware of his obsessively competitive nature.

“If there is one thing that sets me apart from other (judoka), it is the experience of competing for the national team at the Tokyo Olympics,” Abe said.

Abe won back-to-back World Championships in 2017 and 2018. Then he lost three straight times to Joshiro Maruyama, his rival in the same weight class, from the fall of 2018 to the summer of 2019.

Abe’s chance to compete at the Tokyo Olympics was on the blink.

In the days of desperation, “I did everything I could,” Abe recalled.

He reviewed his techniques, weight-loss plan and training methods from scratch.

After that, Abe got his revenge, winning a series of victories over Maruyama to earn a spot on the Tokyo Olympics team, and went on to win the gold medal.

It has been almost five years since Abe bowed in defeat to an opponent on the mat.

His winning streak in official matches has grown to 50.

Still, the fear of losing has not disappeared, he said.

Abe still continues the rigorous stair dash training regimen he started in 2019. Twice a week, he completes 10 round trips of 120 steps.

His trainer, Kentaro Terada, said, “He has a strong will to shorten his time by even one second each time, and he is actually improving his time.”

Initially, Abe's time for the 10 circuits was 24 minutes, but by the time of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, he had cut that to 17 minutes.

The improvement continues, and earlier this month, he departed for Paris after clocking a time in the 15-minute range.

With "be better today than yesterday, be better tomorrow than today" in mind, Abe has trained himself and disciplined himself through tireless efforts.

He said, “I feel the time I spend cooking meals, cleaning the house and doing the laundry is all connected to judo.”

Typically, top judoka begin their weight-loss program three or four weeks prior to a competition, and then drop the final weight in one fell swoop by cutting out water during the last few days.

Abe used to do the same.

But now, he takes seven weeks to slowly lose 7 kg while maintaining his strength.

He cooks three meals a day while taking the weight off.

“I want to make what I put in my mouth on my own,” he said.

While losing weight, he cooks white rice, meat without fat, vegetables and mushrooms. He only uses salt for seasoning. He does not eat bread or noodles because wheat makes his body swell.

“I can eat the same food all the time,” Abe said. “Maybe that is my strength.”

He said that when his pre-match routine goes well and he is well prepared, he feels a flame burning deep inside his body.

“That’s the best state of being,” he said.

On the mat in Paris, he must have definitely felt the flame.