Story highlights
- Masashi Ebinuma is a three time world champion in the -66kg division
- He has also won two Olympic bronze medals
- He is moving up in weight for the World Championships in Budapest
(CNN)With three world titles and two Olympic bronze medals to his name, Masashi Ebinuma has already packed more success, controversy and upset into his career than most athletes will experience in a lifetime.
The 27-year-old Japanese has been one of the standouts in the -66kg category since winning gold at the 2011 World Championships.
For this year's worlds in Budapest he steps up to the 73kg division, hoping to avenge the disappointment of Rio 2016.
Legends of Judo: Masashi Ebinuma
Paris 2011: World champion (-66kg)
London 2012: Olympic bronze medalist (-66kg)
Rio 2013: World champion (-66kg)
Chelyabinsk 2014: World champion (-66kg)
Rio 2016: Olympic bronze medalist (-66kg)
Ebinuma went to Rio as a three-time world champion and one of the favorites for gold, but he lost in the semifinal to South Korea's An Baul Deep and had to settle for a second bronze to add to the medal he won at London 2012.
"Four years ago I was young and I managed to win the bronze," Ebinuma reflected afterwards. "This time it feels a little different. But I had excellent preparation, and even though it is frustrating, I'm glad I kept fighting right until the end of the bronze-medal match."
Photos: A guide to judo
The first judo school dates back to 1882 in Tokyo. Traditionally a Japanese practice, it has gradually spread across the planet and established itself as one of the world's most popular combat sports.
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Photos: A guide to judo
Literally meaning "gentle way," judo techniques harness an opponent's force to your own advantage by throwing and pinning them to the ground.
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Photos: A guide to judo
Judo was first seen at the Olympics in Tokyo in 1964, and a women's competition was added at the Barcelona Games in 1992.
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Photos: A guide to judo
No judoka has more world championships gold medals than Teddy Riner. In September 2017, the legendary Frenchman won his ninth title, before hitting double figures at an open weight competition in Marrakech.
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Photos: A guide to judo
"It is a sport that demands an irreproachable lifestyle," Riner tells CNN, "a sport that demands rigor."
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Photos: A guide to judo
On the women's side, Ryoko Tani's record stands out. The Japanese Judoka has seven world titles, and upon her retirement was hailed as the "best female judoka ever."
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Photos: A guide to judo
Majlinda Kelmendi tears up after being crowned Kosovo's first ever gold medalist at the Rio Olympics in the women's 52 kg weight category.
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Photos: A guide to judo
At 218 kilos, judoka Ricardo Blas Jr. (seen here on the right competing at London 2012) is the world's heaviest Olympian.
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Photos: A guide to judo
Russian President Vladimir Putin is a judo master, denoted by wearing a black belt.
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In 2012, Ebinuma was involved in one of the most controversial moments in Olympic judo history.
After a hard-fought quarterfinal against another South Korean, Cho Jun-ho, his opponent was awarded the victory, much to the derision of the 10,000-strong capacity crowd.
The reaction was so strong the decision was referred to the reviewing commission, who overturned the result and sent Ebinuma through to the semifinals where he lost to eventual gold medalist Lasha Shavdatuashvili. He beat Poland's Pawel Zagrodnik in the bronze-medal match.
A year later Ebinuma won his second world title in Rio, winning all six of his bouts by ippon, and he added a third world crown in Russia in 2014.
Ebinuma has experienced the highs and lows in an already glittering career and begins a new chapter with a step up in weight in Budapest.
