Anton Geesink

Anton Geesink, born in 1934, Dutch judoka (judo practitioner) and instructor, who at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo became the first non-Japanese competitor to win a judo world title. Geesink was born in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Measuring 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) and weighing 121 kg (266 lb), he competed in the now discontinued open event, which did not divide the athletes along weight categories. After he won the open event at the 1964 Olympics, his size caused French athletic officials to advocate the establishment of weight divisions in subsequent Olympics. Geesink also won numerous European titles during his career. He retired in 1967 to become a professional judo instructor.