Anton Geesink

Olympic medalist
Anton Geesink
Medal record
Men's Judo
Gold	1964 Tokyo	Open class

Antonius ("Anton") Johannes Geesink (born April 6, 1934 in Utrecht) is a Dutch 10th dan judoka. He is a 3 time World champion (1961, 1964 and 1965) and Olympic Gold Medalist(1964).[1] He was 6' 7" (2.01 m) tall and at one time weighed 320 pounds (145 kg).

Judo career

Geesink first participated in the European Championships in 1951, and placed second in his category. The following year, he won his first European title. Until 1967, 20 more European titles would follow. At the 1961 World Championships, Geesink became World Champion in the open class, defeating the Japanese, who had won all World Championship titles up to that point. Judo debuted as an official sport at the 1964 Summer Olympics, which were held in the sports home country, Japan. Although Japan dominated 3 of the 4 weight divisions (light,middle and heavy), Anton Geesink won the final of the open weight division, defeating Akio Kaminaga in front of his home crowd. After winning the 1965 World Championships and a last European title in 1967, Geesink quit competitive judo. Anton Geesink is the only living 10th dan grade kodansha recognized by the IJF but not by Kodokan. There are three living 10th dan kodanshas recognized by Kodokan: Toshiro Daigo, Ichiro Abe and Yoshimi Osawa.

Professional wrestling career

In October 1973, All Japan Pro-Wrestling owner Giant Baba recruited Anton Geesink to join AJPW. Baba sent him to Amarillo, TX and Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk trained him for a month. He worked for All Japan from 1973 to 1978, as a popular part-timer. Notable opponents included Bruno Sammartino, Gorilla Monsoon, Dick Murdoch, Dory Funk Jr., Bob Remus (Sgt. Slaughter), Jumbo Tsuruta.

International Olympic Committee career

In 1987, he became a member of the board of the Dutch National Olympic Committee, and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Geesink was among the IOC members suspected of accepting bribes during the scandal surrounding the election of Salt Lake City as the host of the 2002 Winter Olympics. The IOC considered the situation not serious enough for expulsion, and issued a warning to Geesink.

Video footage

• Anton Geesink documentary (English)
• 1964 Olympics Tokyo Anton Geesink (NED) - Akio Kaminaga (JPN) [Open]
• 1965 Dutch Championships Anton Geesink

Trivia

His hometown of Utrecht has a street named after Anton Geesink. Geesink lives in this street.^[1].

References

1. ^ http://www.fairplayeur.com/about/about4.html