BARCELONA ’92 OLYMPICS: DAY 3 : DAILY REPORT : JUDO : China’s Zhuang Takes Gold in Heavyweight Division

Zhuang Xiaoyan of China became the first woman to win an Olympic gold medal in judo Monday. Zhuang, 23, overcome a height and weight disadvantage in beating Cuba’s Estela Rodriguez Villanueva in the heavyweight (over 158 pounds) class. Women’s judo, a demonstration sport in 1988, was upgraded to medal status for these Olympics.

Natalia Lupino of France and Yoko Sakaue of Japan tied for the bronze medals. American Colleen Rosensteel of Colorado Springs, Colo., advanced to the second round, then lost in her second-chance match.

David Khakhaleichvili of the Commonwealth of Independent States also scored an upset when he overbalanced five-time world champion Naoya Ogawa of Japan in a little more than a minute in the heavyweight class (over 209 pounds) for the gold medal. Khakhaleichvili, 22, of Georgia, is a three-time champion of the former Soviet Union. American Damon Keeve of San Francisco lost in the first round but won twice in second-chance bouts before being eliminated.

MEDALISTS

JUDO

(Men--Heavyweight)

GOLD David Khakhaleichvili (CIS)

SILVER Naoya Ogawa (Japan)

BRONZE David Douillet (France) and Imre Csosz (Hungary)

(Women--Heavyweight)

GOLD Zhuang Xiaoyan (China)

SILVER Estela Rodriguez Villanueva (Cuba)

BRONZE Natalia Lupino (France) and Yoko Sakaue (Japan).