Japan's four-time Olympic wrestling champion Kaori Icho on Sunday won her first competition since returning from a two-year break after winning gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.

Icho won three bouts for her victory in the women's 57-kilogram division at the All Japan Women's Open Championships in Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture.

The 34-year-old made a winning return with less than two years to go until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But she refrained from talking about competing in her fifth Summer Games, saying she puts her focus on bringing her physical and mental condition to where it was before she went into her sabbatical.

"I can't say it easily considering my age. I need to build up my motivation to win my fifth Olympics from the bottom of my heart," she said.

She earned a berth in the All Japan Championships in December, which serve as the qualifier for the World Championships next year.

Icho became the first woman in any sport to win individual gold at four consecutive Olympics, following her victory in the 58-kg event in Rio.

The Japan Wrestling Federation earlier this year acknowledged that Icho had suffered power harassment at the hands of former JWF development director Kazuhito Sakae.

Sakae resigned from the JWF in April after a third-party panel of lawyers confirmed instances in which he harassed Icho, and the federation offered her an apology in August.

Icho has resumed training under coach Chikara Tanabe, a bronze medalist at the 2004 Athens Games, at Nippon Sport Science University.