Sayaka wins the Fukuoka International after the World Championships and the news reporters say she’s eclipsing Yawara as a judoka. Yawara goes to work in a cold winter morning and is surprised to see Fujiko running by, and on the 2nd morning Fujiko tells her she’s training for Barcelona Olympics. Yawara confronts Jigoro about involving Fujiko, and later Fujiko admits to her that it was actually Matsuda who first proposed the idea. An angry Yawara tells Matsuda off to not contact her again and that she’s quitting judo for good. Fujiko does not stop training after hearing the news from Matsuda because she loves judo for its own. Matsuda is covering a ski event in Yamagata with Kuniko, which Yawara accidentally finds out, reinforcing her mistaken belief that he will be quitting the newspaper to marry Kuniko. Matsuda’s mother berates him for thinking about quitting the newspaper business and reminds him of his drive to chase after the “strongest girl in the world.” Shinnosuke asks Yawara out on a date on Christmas eve after getting a reprieve that night from Sayaka, who has to entertain an important family friend from France.
富士子は子育てをしながらトレーニングを開始。その姿を見つめる柔だが、背後に滋悟郎と松田がいるのを知り、柔道へ復帰する気になれない。一方、仕事の兼ね合いもあって邦子と共に実家へ戻った松田は…。
