BBC: Mother of Judo reunited with medal
In 1959, New Yorker Rusty Kanokogi disguised herself as a man so she could enter an all-male judo competition at the YMCA sports club. She was 24 years old. Even though her team won, she was forced to give her medal back for breaking the rules. It set her off on a life long campaign for women's judo to be properly recognised. Rusty became a successful competitor and instructor and even married the Japanese national men's coach. She lobbied tirelessly for women's judo to be included in the Olympic games. When she finally succeeded at Seoul in 1988, Rusty became known as the "Mother of Judo". Now, 50 years on, the medal she had removed at the YMCA has finally been returned to her at a special ceremony. Matthew Bannister spoke to her about that controversial 1959 fight (audio link).
Last year, Kanokogi was awarded the Emperor's Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette for her services to the sport. I can recommend listening to the interview. It's only 8 minutes long but she's quite a character. There's also a New York Times piece here from a few months ago.
