Yeldos Smetov

Yeldos Smetov (Kazakh: Елдос Бақтыбайұлы Сметов, Eldos Bahtybaıuly Smetov; born 9 September 1992) is a Kazakh judoka and Olympic champion in 2024 in the under 60 kg weight category. He won gold medals at the 2014 Asian Games and the 2015 World Judo Championships, a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics, a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

In the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Yeldos Smetov defeated Luka Mkheidze in the final and won the gold medal, becoming the first ever judoka from Kazakhstan and central asia to win a gold medal.

Smetov also secured a gold and a bronze medal at the World Cup among youth in 2010 and 2011, respectively. He joined the adult national team in 2012 and won a bronze at the 2013 Asian Judo Championships in Bangkok, a silver at a Grand Prix stage in Samsun - a stage of the European Cup in Tbilisi, and gold at an open European Cup in Warsaw. His first coach was Akhmet Zhumagulov.