In Memoriam - Anton Geesink

On Friday, one of the great Olympic champions passed. Dutch judoka Anton Geesink, the 1964 Olympic champion in the open division died in Utrecht at the age of 76. In 1961, Geesink captured his first world championship and became the first non-Japanese world champion in judo. For the 1964 Olympics, the host nation was allowed to include two new sports to the program. The Japanese chose volleyball and judo. Japan captured three of the four gold medals with Geesink winning the fourth. He captued a second world championship in 1965 and a unprecedented 20th European champion in 1967 before retiring from the sport. Judo was not included in the 1968 Olympic program, denying Geesink an opportunity at a second gold. Geesink was elected to the International Olympic Committee in 1987.