Built on grit: Momo Tamaoki rises to No.1 in the U57kg rankings

The U57kg division is famous for sudden breakthroughs and short reigns at the top. Momo Tamaoki has taken the opposite route. After years of staying in the mix, piling up results and showing up when the pressure is highest, the Japanese veteran has finally climbed to the top spot of the world ranking.

Her story started loudly back in 2014, when she won the World Junior title in Miami. Plenty of junior stars fade once the senior circuit hardens, but Tamaoki turned early promise into something rarer: a career defined by reliability. With more than 25 medals on the IJF World Judo Tour, she has repeatedly reached the business end of major events in one of judo’s most crowded categories.

In a weight class that resets fast, consistency can be the most brutal weapon.

There is still one line missing from her résumé: a senior world title. Tamaoki came closest in Budapest, taking silver at the World Championships in 2021 and again in 2025. Those finals ended painfully, yet they also underlined her ability to remain a true contender across multiple Olympic cycles.

Her medal trail includes standout moments in Europe as well. She won the Grand Prix in Budapest in 2016 and later took gold in Zagreb in 2017, proving early that she could deliver on European tatami. She added major prestige with Grand Slam wins in Baku in 2021 and again at the 2025 Grand Slam in Baku, alongside other key results such as the Asian title in 2022.

A big part of the last decade at U57kg can’t be told without her rivalries with Canada’s Christa Deguchi and Jessica Klimkait. Their head-to-head numbers show how tight the elite has been, and with Klimkait now moving up to U63kg, the landscape shifts again. Tamaoki is the new ranking leader—and this time, it’s a lead earned the hard way.

Source: JudoInside