Olympic and world champion Ryoko Tamura said Tuesday she will stay away from competitive judo indefinitely in an attempt to regain full fitness for the 2003 World Championships in Osaka and the Olympic Games in Athens the following year.
Tamura, plagued by damaged ligaments and cartilage in her right knee the last four months, said that the injury had prompted her to give up on a bid for a 12th straight title at the Dec. 8-9 international women's judo championships in her native Fukuoka.
"I made the best possible preparations for the Fukuoka meet despite the injury.
The primary objective of the decision not to compete is to achieve my goal of winning a sixth straight world title and a second straight Olympic gold medal," Tamura said.