Kayla Harrison has done it again. The American who won gold at the 2012 Summer Games in judo matched her feat on Thursday by winning gold in the women's half heavyweight division (78kg) after defeating France's Audrey Tcheumeo by armbar.
Harrison initially retired after the 2012 games, hoping to pursue a career as a firefighter, but still felt she had more to prove before the 2016 games kicked off.
"I want to retire as the greatest ever. I feel like I've still got some left in the tank.My goal is to leave a legacy in the world of judo," Harrison said before the games per NBC.
Harrison is the first judoker to win back-to-back medals in the Olympics ever, so yeah, I think it's safe to say she left a legacy with both of those being gold.
BACK. TO. BACK. 🏅🏅@Judo_Kayla has made HISTORY as the first U.S. judoka to win back-to-back #GOLD! pic.twitter.com/tGAt4e9Mxc
— U.S. Olympic Team (@TeamUSA) August 11, 2016
Harrison was looking for a grip for most of the four-minute match against Tcheumeo, but with about a minute left, she was able to flip her to the ground, get a hold of Tcheumeo's arm and lock in the submission. She scored submission victories in both the semifinal and final on Thursday.