As one of the most anticipated sporting events of the year, did the Paris Olympics deliver? Absolutely! The French capital showcased thrilling performances in various sports, often featuring American athletes at the top of the rankings. However, in a sport such as wrestling, while there were undoubtedly American wrestlers, the majority of wrestlers on the top step of the podium were Japanese.

Japan dominated the wrestling events and was way ahead of any country in the medal tally. However, this dominance is not limited to the current campaign; Japan has maintained this position for a considerable amount of time. Such performances by the Japanese wrestlers easily won the hearts of their countrypeople, and the public celebrated this achievement in a unique way.

A creative decision from the Japanese people

Every country treated their athletes in some way that was different than another. Any kind of Olympic medal, especially the gold, is held as one of the top accolades in any sportsperson’s career, and Japan made sure that their wrestlers deserved the best gift, that too, from the public. As reported by The Guardian, the country has chosen the word “gold” or “kin” (in Japanese) as the kanji of the year to celebrate the medals that their wrestlers achieved at the French capital with utter domination.

Since 1995, every year the Japanese Kanji Proficiency Society has gone through a nationwide public voting, where the people of Japan are allowed to choose a Kanji character. Apart from the political aspect, the public went for gold, owing to their country’s medal sweep in wrestling, as per the medal tally, Japan secured 8 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze, making it an overall 11 Olympic medals in Paris.

The single kanji character has been revealed this week at Kiyomizu-dera, which is a Buddhist temple in Kyoto. The head priest of the divine location, Seihan Mori, also was spotted drawing it with a huge brush on a white washi paper canvas. According to the Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, the character received 12,148 votes, which ultimately was the highest among the others. This is also the fifth time that gold has been selected on an annual basis, which shows the dominant fashion of Japanese wrestlers in the Olympic Games, and how their people are fascinated by their nation’s sportspersons.

However, what was Japan’s major victory in the wrestling events in Paris? It was the men’s 57 kg division that saw the finals between Rei Higuchi and America’s Spencer Lee. Surely, Higuchi was a world champion coming to the event, but Lee also made notoriety with his gold medal performance at the 2024 Pan American Championships, where he defeated Venezuela’s Pedro Mejías. So, the fans had a ton of expectations from both the wrestlers, and they didn’t disappoint either.

Despite Lee’s ambitious attempt, he wasn’t able to keep himself out of Higuchi’s clutches. Eventually, the American lost the bout by 2–4 from the Japanese wrestler, and with this, Higuchi captured his career-first Olympic gold medal. While it was a dominant performance from Japan in Paris, a certain Serbian-American wrestler pointed out a certain quality that these wrestlers have.

Revealing Japan’s wrestling secret

In sports, athletes have some kind of tricks up their sleeves that help them overcome odds at events. However, some secrets don’t stay for a long time after the community and other professional players observe them with a keen eye. Talking with experience in wrestling, Serbian-American wrestler Stevan Micic revealed on his social media, stating, “I think that Japan just having a very outside style, very quick athletic, you know, it’s really difficult to kind of get your hands on them, but also they’re so fast, they can find the leg and you have to always be cautious.” 

The world champion is very observant. So, after watching Japan’s dominance in the sport at the French capital, he figured out that the Japanese wrestler’s agility was what was making the difference. Indeed, wrestling necessitates physical strength, yet these wrestlers’ swift movements often provide them an advantage over their opponents on the mat.