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The purpose of this study was to check the chance of winning an Olympic medal considering the participation or not in the World Championship and the outcome in case of participation. We analyzed a total of 390 athletes (200 males and 190 females) competing in the Olympic Games. A logistic regression was used to measure the magnitude of association between winning a medal in the Olympic Games and participation in the World Championships. The odds ratio of winning a medal in the Olympic Games was 12.7, 21.2 and 8.2 times greater for World Championship medallists when compared to non-medallists in the World Championship for all athletes, females only, and males only, respectively. Furthermore, high-level athletes who did not compete in the World Championship had also increased odds ratio of winning an Olympic medal compared to those who participated in the World Championship with no medal: this was 6.6 times greater for the whole group, 6.7 for females only and 6.5 for males only. Our results show that increased odds ratios of winning an Olympic medal were found for judo athletes competing in the World Championship and winning a medal in it, as well as for those avoiding this competition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]