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 the U.S. development of judo is Yamashita Yoshitsugu, who came to the U.S. in 1902 in order to teach judo to the Japanese community. Yoshiaki ended up teaching Senator James Wolcott Wadsworth Jr.'s wife, who happened to attend the same country club as Theodore Roosevelt. Mrs. Wadsworth told Roosevelt about judo, and he became interested in the sport. Yoshiaki was subsequently invited to Washington to give a demonstration at the White House. There was a contest with a wrestler by the name of John Graft, who was the coach at the U.S. Naval Academy and who was teaching President Roosevelt