34st 5lb Ricardo Blas Jr walks into the judo arenaJudo fans at Excel were greeted by an astonishing sight on Friday morning as the heaviest Olympian at London 2012 went head to head with another of the heaviest competitors at the Games.
Guam's Ricardo Blas Jr, who tips the scales at 34st 5lb, took to the arena against relative lightweight Facinet Keita of Guinea in the heavyweight category, open only to judoka weighing over 16 stone 4 lbs.
Blas is over 10 stone heavier than the next biggest competitor at the Games. Even more amazingly, he weighs nearly seven stone more than the entire Japanese women's gymnastics team.
So what happened when these two titans clashed? Keita, who is a comparatively svelte 21 stone, took the early initiative as he rans rings round Blas, but the big man from Guam pulled off a surprisingly deft throw to win their bout by ippon.
Blas after winning his last-32 clash
Blas's run didn't last long, however: he came up against the comparatively waif-like 17st Oscar Brayson of Cuba in the next round, and was himself beaten by ippon.
Blas on his way to defeat by a Cuban less than half his weight