Anton Geesink: The Giant Who Globalised Judo Timeline

Anton Geesink: The Giant Who Globalised Judo 15

1952 Anton Geesink wins his first European judo title Gold at the European Championships in Paris while still a 1st dan Geesink won the first of his 21 European Championship gold medals in Paris in 1952. He was still only a 1st dan.
1953 Anton Geesink takes the European open-class title in London Second European crown, at the 1953 championships At the 1953 European Championships in London, Geesink won the open class. This confirmed him as Europe's leading judoka.
1956 Anton Geesink wins bronze at the 1956 World Championships First world medal, at the championships in Tokyo Geesink took bronze at the World Judo Championships in Tokyo. Japanese judoka took the top places.
1957 Anton Geesink named Dutch Sportsman of the Year The first of four national sportsman awards (1957, 1961, 1964, 1965) Geesink was voted Dutch Sportsman of the Year for the first time in 1957. He won the award again in 1961, 1964 and 1965.
1961 Anton Geesink becomes the first non-Japanese world judo champion Beats Japan's Koji Sone in the open class at the World Championships in Paris At the 1961 World Judo Championships in Paris, Geesink, then a 5th dan, defeated Japanese champion Koji Sone to win the open class. It was the first time a non-Japanese judoka had won a world title.
1964 Anton Geesink wins Olympic gold in Tokyo Defeats Akio Kaminaga in the open-category final at the Nippon Budokan In judo's first Olympic tournament, Geesink beat Akio Kaminaga twice, in the pool and again in the final, where he pinned him with kesa-gatame. He became the first non-Japanese judoka to win Olympic gold, and the Budokan crowd fell silent.
1965 Anton Geesink wins the heavyweight world title in Rio de Janeiro Second world championship, at the 1965 World Championships Geesink won the heavyweight class at the fourth World Judo Championships in Rio de Janeiro. It was his second world title.
1967 Anton Geesink retires from competitive judo Bows out after winning a final European title in 1967 Geesink retired from competition in 1967 after winning the last of his European titles. That brought his total to 21 European Championship gold medals.
1973 Anton Geesink joins All Japan Pro Wrestling Recruited by promoter Giant Baba In October 1973, All Japan Pro Wrestling owner Giant Baba brought Geesink into his promotion. Geesink was a popular part-time performer there.
1978 Anton Geesink ends his professional wrestling career Leaves All Japan Pro Wrestling after five years Geesink's part-time career with All Japan Pro Wrestling ran from 1973 until 1978.
1987 Anton Geesink becomes a member of the International Olympic Committee Co-opted as an IOC member for the Netherlands Geesink was co-opted into the International Olympic Committee in 1987. He remained a member until his death.
1997 Anton Geesink is awarded the 10th dan Judo's highest grade, conferred by the International Judo Federation In 1997, Geesink became one of the few judoka to hold the 10th dan. The grade was awarded by the International Judo Federation, not the Kodokan.
1997 Anton Geesink receives Japan's Order of the Sacred Treasure Japanese state honour for his role in world judo The Japanese government awarded Geesink the Order of the Sacred Treasure in 1997. It was a notable honour from the country whose judo dominance he had broken.
1999 Anton Geesink receives an IOC warning in the Salt Lake City scandal Cleared of bribery but warned over an appearance of conflict of interest Geesink was among the IOC members investigated over the bidding for the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games. He was cleared of wrongdoing but given a warning for the appearance of a conflict of interest.
2010 Anton Geesink dies in Utrecht Judo pioneer and IOC member dies aged 76 Geesink died in Utrecht on 27 August 2010, aged 76. He was still serving as an IOC member.