Kosei Inoue won the gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in the -100 kg division, most notably doing so by winning every single match by ippon.

Elco van der Geest of the Netherlands (2002 European Champion) defeated Inoue at the last minute with a drop seoi nage (shoulder throw) in the quarter final.

He did not compete until 2007 because of a shoulder injury in 2005 and returned at +100 kg At the 2008 All-Japan Judo Championships, Inoue lost to Yohei Takai by ippon, which ended his hopes of joining the Olympic team headed for Beijing.

Inoue was replaced by Satoshi Ishii, who defeated Keiji Suzuki in the final bout of the 2008 AJJC (International Herald Tribune, April 29, 2008) and won a gold medal in the 2008 Olympic Games.

[2] After announcing his retirement from competitive judo, Inoue was selected by the Japan Olympic Committee to travel to the UK in order to learn English.