Dietmar Lorenz Was a Judo Trailblazer

Earlier this month, the judo world mourned the loss of Germany’s Dietmar Lorenz, gold medalist at the 1978 Kano Cup and 1980 Moscow Olympics. He was 70 years old.

Lorenz had other notable achievements, including four European Championship gold medals and two World Championship bronze medals. But it was his Kano Cup and Olympic wins that he was most proud of.

Lorenz was the first non-Japanese to win at the prestigious Kano Cup. “After Anton Geesink’s Olympic victory, I was the second who managed to break through Japanese supremacy,” he said. Geesink was the first non-Japanese player to win a World Championship and an Olympic gold.

The Best of Shohei Ono is available now at JudoFanatics.com!