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 Canada (2011), Raymond Damblant (2012), and Hiroshi Nakamura (2012). Eleven Canadians are ranked "hachidan" (eighth dan), twenty-seven are ranked "shichidan" (seventh dan), and approximately 85 others are ranked "rokudan" (sixth dan). The names of the ninth and eighth "dan" holders are listed in the tables to the right. A typographic dagger () follows the names of those who are deceased. A registry of approximately 5000 black belts ranked "shodan" (first "dan") to "hachidan" (eighth "dan") in the years 1946–1997 is included in Glynn Leyshon's book "Judoka: a history of Judo in Canada". Canadians have won five Olympic medals in Judo since