Japan's Tachimoto wins judo gold

2016 Rio Olympics - Judo - Final - Women -70 kg Final - Gold Medal Contest - Carioca Arena 2 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -10/08/2016. Haruka Tachimoto (JPN) of Japan and Yuri Alvear (COL) of Colombia react. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Japan's Haruka Tachimoto won the women's under 70-kg judo gold medal for the sport's birthplace on Wednesday, defeating Colombia's Yuri Alvear who took silver.

Tachimoto, a four-time grand slam winner, was the only member of Japan's 14-strong team who was unseeded going into the competition. Earlier in the day, she beat top seed Kim Polling of the Netherlands.

Tachimoto left the competition with tears of happiness streaming down her face. It was Japan's second gold medal in judo.

Germany's Vargas Koch and Britain's Sally Conway each took bronze. Alvear had previously won a bronze medal in the 2012 Olympics.

(Reporting by Caroline Stauffer)