Background and career
Eldos Baqtybiaūly Smetov (Kazakh: Елдос Бақтыбайұлы Сметов; born 9 September 1992) is a Kazakh judoka and Olympic champion in 2024 in the under 60 kg weight category. He won gold medals at the 2014 Asian Games the 2015 World Championships, the 2016 Asian Championships, a silver medal at the 2016 Olympics, a bronze medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
In the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, Smetov defeated Luka Mkheidze in the final and won the gold medal, becoming the first ever judoka from Kazakhstan and central asia to win a gold medal.
Smetov also secured gold and bronze medals at the World Juniors Championships in 2010 and 2011, respectively. He joined the adult national team in 2012 and won a bronze at the 2013 Asian Championships in Bangkok, a silver at a Grand Prix stage in Samsun 2013 – a stage of the European Cup in Tbilisi, and gold at an open European Cup in Warsaw. His first coach was Akhmet Zhumagulov.
