RIO DE JANEIRO — For the first time, the U.S. will have a defending Olympic judo champion when the Rio games begin — and she will be backed up by arguably the strongest team ever produced by the U.S. to compete in the Japanese martial art, with a serious chance of taking three medals.

Kayla Harrison made history when she became the first American to win a judo gold at the London Games in 2012 and even though she had intended to quit — and become a firefighter instead — the lure of defending her title was too great. She will be joined in Rio by two other leading contenders: Marti Malloy, who won a bronze in London and Travis Taylor, who finished fifth.

“U.S. judo has had an unprecedented run with these three athletes,” said the team’s head coach Jimmy Pedro, noting their numerous recent medals at major global competitions.

“Realistically, three medals would be the ultimate,” he said, when asked to predict the team’s hardware count. “I would absolutely love to see two golds, but we will have to see what happens in Rio. All three of them have proven that they can beat anyone on the right day.”

The top-ranked Harrison is expected to meet her biggest rival, second-seeded Mayra Aguiar when the 78-kilogram women’s division is fought on August 11, either in the final, or should things not go according to plan, a bronze-medal match.

“Kayla is very poised and will thrive on the energy of the crowd,” Pedro said. “On all the big stages — the World Championships, the Pan-Am Games — Kayla always comes out on top.”