Jack Yonezuka secured the -73kg silver medal for the USA at the 2026 Ulaanbaatar Grand Slam.
He fought well throughout the day, winning his first match, against Joshua green (IRL) with a slick Huizinga Roll.
Yonezuka had a hard second match that was won in the dying moments with an ouchi-gari for yuko.
Next, he threw Hassan Doukkali (MAR) with ouchi-gari, and then proceeded to pin him for ippon.
He won his semifinal match, against Uranbayar Odgerel (MGL), in Golden Score after the Mongolian tried to take him down with hikikomi-gaeshi. Yonezuka managed to avoid the throw and immediately pounced on Odegeral to lock him in a hold-down.
Yonezuka would have to face another Mongolian, Ankhzaya Lavjargal, in the final. Their match lasted a long time. About two and a half minutes in Golden Score, Yonezuka made a mistake. When he was on the ground, he attempted to stand up without the referee calling "matte". Lavjargal attacked with uchimata and Yonezuka was thrown for waza-ari.
Although he did not win the gold, this was Yonezuka's best result in the IJF World Tour to date.
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