But unlike her namesake, Tamura has been racking up titles since she was in junior high.

CNN: Japan evens the odds

And on the judo mats, no one is a bigger star than Tamura Ryoko.

CNN: Japan evens the odds

CNN's Wayne Drash, Traci Tamura and Gregg Canes contributed to this report.

CNN: The story

CNN's Elwyn Lopez, Traci Tamura and Miguel Marquez contributed to this report.

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