RIO DE JANEIRO—Kayla Harrison fought her way to judo history. Again.
Harrison became the first American to defend an Olympic judo title when she forced France’s Audrey Tcheumeo to tap out in the final of 78-kg competition at the Rio Games on Thursday. The victory in Brazil comes after she won the first judo gold for the U.S. in London.
With just six seconds left in an otherwise scoreless final, Harrison trapped Tcheumeo in a move that threatened to break her arm, forcing the Frenchwoman to submit and handing an automatic ippon victory to the American. Harrison won each of her fights Thursday with similar match-ending techniques.
United States' Kayla Harrison (R) competes against Hungary's Abigel Joo during the women's 78-kg judo competition at at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 11, 2016. AP Photo/Markus Schreiber
