Lee Hyun-ji (19, Yong In University) claimed her first gold medal at the Judo World Championships. South Korea has now produced consecutive female super-heavyweight world champions for two years, following Kim Ha-yoon (Ansan City Hall) in 2025. Lee Hyun-ji had won a bronze medal at last year’s tournament after losing to Kim Ha-yoon in the quarterfinals and advancing through the repechage.
In 2026, Lee Hyun-ji stood atop the podium. Ranked fourth globally, Lee defeated France’s Roman Diko (world No. 3) with an ippon in the women’s +78kg final held in Baku, Azerbaijan, on October 10 (local time). She also erased the disappointment of her silver medal at the recently concluded Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games.
Lee Hyun-ji’s momentum was relentless. She won all her matches by ippon. Notably, her first four bouts—from the round of 32 to the semifinals—each ended within 50 seconds. In the semifinals, she defeated Israel’s Raz Hershko, the current world No. 1, with a heel sweep ippon after 48 seconds. Hershko is the 2024 Paris Olympics silver medalist.
Her final opponent, Diko, had previously won two bronze medals in individual events and two golds in the mixed team event at the last two Olympics. Lee secured a half-point with a leg throw and added another half-point with a side hold, clinching a combined ippon victory 2 minutes and 30 seconds into the 4-minute match.
Lee Hyun-ji is the daughter of Lee Chi-hoon, executive director of the Jeju Island Ssireum Association and a former ssireum athlete. She was selected as South Korea’s youngest national team member while in her first year at Namnyeong High School in Jeju. At the Asian Games qualifiers, she overtook Kim Ha-yoon, who had won South Korea’s only gold at the previous Hangzhou Games, to earn the national team spot. In the Asian Games final, she lost to China’s Niu Xinxin and settled for silver.
Judging that more international experience was needed, Lee Hyun-ji immediately entered the World Championships without rest and savored her first-ever top podium finish. Niu Xinxin was eliminated in the round of 32 at this tournament.
Huh Mi-mi, the Asian Games champion in the women’s 57kg category, did not participate. Lee Hyun-ji had scheduling flexibility for the World Championships and faced no difficulties adjusting her condition, as the super-heavyweight division does not require weight cutting.
Lee Hyun-ji delivered South Korea’s only medal in the individual events at the 2026 World Championships. Kim Min-jong (Yangpyeong County Office), competing in the men’s +100kg category, advanced to the second round via a bye before losing to Japan’s Kanta Nakano with an ankle throw ippon.
South Korea has now produced World Championship winners in the women’s team (coached by Jung Sung-sook) for two consecutive years. Last year, the team earned one gold (Kim Ha-yoon), one silver (mixed team), and three bronzes (Lee Hyun-ji, Kim Min-jong, Lee Jun-hwan).
Japan sent its top-tier athletes to the World Championships instead of the Asian Games held in their home country and secured seven gold medals (two silvers, three bronzes) across 14 weight classes, finishing first in the overall standings.
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