Kazakh Smetov Beats Frenchman For Judo Gold, Completes Olympic Medal Collection

Kazakh judoka Yeldos Smetov won gold in the 60-kilogram final on July 27 to give his Central Asian republic its second medal of the first full day of competition in the Paris Olympics. Compatriots Aleksandra Le and Islam Satpayev won the bronze hours earlier in the 10-meter mixed air rifle shooting event, the country's first shooting Olympic medal in nearly three decades. Judoka Smetov beat out French opponent Luka Mkheidze in the finals despite flirting with disqualification with two penalties. It was the Kazakh's third Olympic medal but first top prize in judo competition, having taken the silver in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and the bronze in Tokyo in 2021.