Yoshimi Masaki

Last updated • 2 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Yoshimi Masaki
Personal information
Born (1962-08-20) 20 August 1962 (age 62)
Occupation Judoka
Sport
Sport Judo
Medal record
Representing Flag of Japan.svg  Japan
Men's judo
World Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1985 Seoul Open
Asian Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1986 Seoul Open
Asian Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1984 Kuwait City Open
Universiade
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1985 Kobe Open [1]
Profile at external databases
JudoInside.com 17192

Yoshimi Masaki (正木 嘉美, Masaki Yoshimi, born on August 20, 1962, in Tadaoka, Osaka, Japan) is a retired Japanese judoka who is a professor at Tenri University.

Contents

Biography

Masaki began judo during elementary school, and graduated from Tenri Highschool and Tenri University, where he was awarded as an outstanding competitor at the All-Japan Collegiate Judo Championships four times. Yasuhiro Yamashita, Seigo Saito, Yasuyuki Muneta, and Yohei Takai are the only other judoka in history who received the award four times. Masaki continued to work and train at the university after graduating, but was unable to gain a spot on the Japanese national judo team as the third-string competitor behind Yasuhiro Yamashita and Hitoshi Saito. However, when Saito entered in both the +95 kg and Open weight categories of the 1985 World Judo Championships, he was severely injured in the final of the +95 kg competition, forcing him to give up his spot in the Open weight category. Masaki filled in as a last-minute replacement, and defeated Mohamed Rashwan in the final to become world champion in the Open weight category. [2] He continued his success with consecutive wins at the All-Japan Judo Championships from 1986 to 1987, and was scheduled to enter the 1987 World Judo Championships but withdrew due to an injury (his replacement, 19-year-old Naoya Ogawa, went on to win the tournament to become the youngest world champion at the time). Though seen as the favorite to represent Japan in the Open weight category at the 1988 Summer Olympics, Masaki was defeated by Naoya Ogawa and Hitoshi Saito in qualification tournaments and did not make an appearance at the Olympics.

Masaki has continued to work for Tenri University after retiring, both as a judo instructor and a professor in sports science. He has also worked as an instructor for the All-Japan Judo Federation.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Takushoku University</span> Private university in Tokyo, Japan

Takushoku University is a private university in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1900 by Prince Taro Katsura (1848–1913). It has two campuses: the main campus in the Bunkyō Ward and a satellite campus in Hachiōji. Takushoku University has five faculties: Commerce, Political Science and Economics, Foreign Languages, International Studies, and Engineering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judo at the 1984 Summer Olympics</span> Judo competition

The Judo competition at the 1984 Summer Olympics continued the seven weight classes first used at the 1980 Games. With the open division, there were eight competitions. Powerhouse Japan returned to the top of the medal count after eight years, having boycotted the Moscow games. Because of the Soviet-led boycott of the Los Angeles games, several traditionally strong judo countries, including Cuba and the Soviet Union, did not participate. The Judo competition was held at California State University, Los Angeles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohamed Ali Rashwan</span> Egyptian judoka (born 1956)

Mohamed Ali Rashwan is an Egyptian judoka. At the 1984 Summer Olympics he won the silver medal in the men's Open Class category.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naoya Ogawa</span> Japanese judoka, professional wrestler and mixed martial arts fighter

Naoya Ogawa is a Japanese world champion judoka, retired professional wrestler, and mixed martial artist. He won a total of seven medals at the All-Japan Judo Championships, and set a record of seven medals at the World Judo Championships. Ogawa won the silver medal in the +95 kg judo weight class at the 1992 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tadahiro Nomura</span> Retired Japanese judoka (born 1974)

Tadahiro Nomura is a retired Japanese judoka. He is the only judoka in the world who has won three individual Olympic gold medals in a row, all in the extra lightweight (‍–‍60 kg) division.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Douillet</span> French judoka and politician

David Donald Hubert Roger Douillet is a French politician and retired judoka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yasuhiro Yamashita</span> Japanese judoka (born 1957)

Yasuhiro Yamashita is a Japanese judoka. He currently works as an instructor or advisor for numerous organizations, including Tokai University, the International Judo Federation, and the All Japan Judo Federation. He retired from competitive judo on 17 June 1985 after a remarkable career where he won five gold medals in international competitions and marked 203 consecutive victories until his retirement where he went undefeated his entire career against non-Japanese wrestlers. He received the Japanese National Prize of Honor on 9 October 1984. He is considered by many to be the greatest judoka ever.

Yasuyuki Muneta is a Japanese judoka. He won two gold medals and a silver medal at the World Judo Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shinji Hosokawa</span> Japanese judoka (born 1960)

Shinji Hosokawa is a Japanese retired judoka who won two Olympic medals during the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hitoshi Saito</span> Japanese judoka (1961–2015)

Hitoshi Saito was a Japanese judoka who won two consecutive gold medals at the Olympic games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teddy Riner</span> French heavyweight judoka (born 1989)

Teddy Pierre-Marie Riner is a French heavyweight judoka. An eleven-time world champion in the heavyweight (+100 kg) division, two-time openweight world champion and one-time world champion with the French men's team, he is the first and only judoka in history to win twelve gold medals at the World Judo Championships. Having won the gold medal in the Men's +100 kg event at the Summer Olympics three times and, as a member of the French team, in the mixed team event twice. Additionally, he is a two-time Olympic bronze medalist, a five-time European champion, a four-time World Masters gold medalist and eleven-time Grand Slam winner in his weight category.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All-Japan Judo Championships</span> Judo competition

The All-Japan judo championships is a judo tournament held every year in Japan. The men's tournament is held in Nippon Budokan on 29 April and the women's tournament is held in Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium in April. The Kodokan and All Japan Judo Federation sponsor the championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isao Inokuma</span> Japanese judoka (1938–2001)

Isao Inokuma was a Japanese judoka. He won a gold medal in the heavyweight division at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and a world title in 1965.

Kazuhiro Ninomiya is a retired judoka who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Akio Kaminaga</span> Japanese judoka (1936–1993)

Akio Kaminaga was a Japanese judoka who won a silver medal in the open weight category at the 1964 Summer Olympics.

Mayumi Yamashita is a Japanese judoka.

The men's open category competition in judo at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles was held on 11 August at the California State University. The gold medal was won by Yasuhiro Yamashita of Japan.

The Japan men's national artistic gymnastics team is a sport group governed by Japan Gymnastics Association and represents Japan in international gymnastics competitions and multi-sports events. Followed the establishment of All Japan Gymnastics Federation in 1930, the team first appeared at the 1932 Summer Olympics and gradually became the major force till this day. For nearly two decades, from 1960 to 1978, Japanese men was dominant and won every gold medal at the Olympics and World Championships.

References