Jeannine Meulemans (VJF) and the "Ligue Francophone de Judo", acting under the Belgian Judo Federation umbrella. The exams were held in Etterbeek (ESC), Brussels, before a national jury consisting of Jean-Marie Falise, Marcel Clause, Marcel Degroote, and presided by Abe Ichirō, 8th dan from the Kōdōkan in Japan. At that occasion she was praised by Abe Ichirō, for obtaining the highest score among all candidates irrespective of gender. In 1983 Meulemans retired from competitive judo after winning her 10th successive national title, though at club level she continued to remain for years a technically inspiring judo training partner to Sonja Maes and
Judo in the United States AAU sport, and there have been national competitions and tournaments ever since. The United States formed an Olympic team and competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics, which it continues to do to this day. Judo is now practiced by and estimated 100,000 American men, women, and children (25,000 registered in either the USJA, USJF, and USA Judo). America's first major contact exposure to judo came through President Ulysses S. Grant in 1879. He was in Japan for a state visit and observed a judo demonstration. In 1889, Kanō Jigorō gave a lecture on the philosophy of judo to several Americans;