Saori Yoshida (吉田 沙保里) is a Japanese former freestyle wrestler. Starting in 1998, she won almost every major competition, including three Olympic Games, four Asian Games, and 13 world championships, and became the most decorated athlete in freestyle wrestling history. As of 2016, Yoshida had only three senior career losses in international competitions, to Marcie Van Dusen (0–2) on 20 January 2008 at the Team World Cup series, Valeria Zholobova (1–2) on 27 May 2012 at the World Cup, and to Helen Maroulis (1–4) on 18 August 2016 at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Yoshida was the flagbearer for Japan at the 2006 Asian Games and at the 2012 Olympics. In 2007, she became the first female wrestler to be named Japanese Athlete of the Year, and in 2012 she received the People's Honour Award.

Weight

Yoshida started competing internationally as a cadet, in 1998, in the 52 kg category. By 2002, when she moved to seniors, she competed in the 59 kg division. The same year, she lost 4 kg, and remained in the 55 kg category until 2014. She moved to the 53 kg class at the 2014 World Cup and World Championships as part of her preparation for the 2016 Olympics, where the traditional 48–55–63–75 kg scheme would be changed to 48–53–58–63–69–75 kg. However, two weeks after the World Championships she returned to the 55 kg category at the 2014 Asian Games, which kept the old weight divisions. Yoshida announced her retirement on Twitter in January 2019.

Family and public life

Yoshida is the daughter of Eikatsu Yoshida, a former national champion and wrestling coach. She started training in wrestling aged 3, following her father and two elder brothers. Since 2011, she has been a face of the ALSOK security group and regularly appears in their commercials. In December 2008, the wrestling singlet which Yoshida wore in the Olympic final bout earlier that year, was sold for 551,000 yen (ca. US$6,123) at an internet auction, and the money donated to the Japanese Red Cross society. In 2013, when the International Olympic Committee named wrestling as a candidate for exclusion from the Games, she became an active part of the Japanese lobbying team that persuaded the IOC to retain wrestling at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In May 2014, Yoshida made a cameo appearance in the Japanese television drama Tokyo Metropolitan Guard Center, and later wished to resume acting after retiring from wrestling.

Olympic Games/World Championship/Asian Games matches

{| class="wikitable" ! Res. ! Record ! Opponent ! Score ! Date ! Event ! Location ! style=background:white colspan=8 | 2016 Olympic silver medalist at 53kg ! style=background:white colspan=8 | 2015 World champion at 53kg ! style=background:white colspan=8 | 2014 Asian Games champion at 55kg ! style=background:white colspan=8 | 2014 World champion at 53kg ! style=background:white colspan=8 | 2013 World champion at 55kg ! style=background:white colspan=8 | 2012 World champion at 55kg ! style=background:white colspan=8 | 2012 Olympic champion at 55kg ! style=background:white colspan=8 | 2011 World champion at 55kg ! style=background:white colspan=8 | 2010 Asian Games champion at 55kg ! style=background:white colspan=8 | 2010 World champion at 55kg ! style=background:white colspan=8 | 2009 World champion at 55kg ! style=background:white colspan=8 | 2008 Olympic champion at 55kg ! style=background:white colspan=8 | 2007 World champion at 55kg ! style=background:white colspan=8 | 2006 Asian Games champion at 55kg ! style=background:white colspan=8 | 2006 World champion at 55kg ! style=background:white colspan=8 | 2005 World champion at 55kg ! style=background:white colspan=8 | 2004 Olympic champion at 55kg ! style=background:white colspan=8 | 2003 World champion at 55kg ! style=background:white colspan=8 | 2002 World champion at 55kg ! style=background:white colspan=8 | 2002 Asian Games champion at 55kg

Championships and accomplishments