Akio Kaminaga
1964) | |||||||||||||||||||||
World Champ. | (1958) | ||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Profile at external databases | |||||||||||||||||||||
IJF | 54643 | ||||||||||||||||||||
JudoInside.com | 5393 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Updated on June 25, 2023. |
Akio Kaminaga (神永 昭夫, Kaminaga Akio, December 22, 1936 – March 21, 1993) was a Japanese
Biography
Kaminaga was born in
However, Kaminaga was completely outclassed when he participated in the Meiji University judo team's sparring sessions. This convinced him to enter Meiji University,[3] and he continued to practice judo at the Kodokan Institute. Kaminaga had several career choices after graduating, but became an employee of Fuji Steel (currently Nippon Steel) at the recommendation of Meiji University alumnus and 1958 World Judo Championships gold medalist Koji Sone.[3] He finished in second place behind Sone in the 1958 World Championships, and won a then-unprecedented three championships at the All-Japan Judo Championships from 1960–1961 and 1964 to become the top heavyweight judo competitor in Japan along with Isao Inokuma. Inokuma would remain Kaminaga's rival and close friend throughout his life.
Judo became an Olympic sport for the first time in the
Kaminaga become the head coach of the Meiji University judo team in 1968 at the advice of Koji Sone,[3] where he taught future Olympic gold medalist Haruki Uemura. He also served as a coach of the Japanese judo team for the 1972 Summer Olympics, but resigned from his post at Meiji University after one of his pupils, Masatoshi Shinomaki, lost in the preliminary round of the tournament. He lived as a salaryman afterwards, while continuing his affiliation with judo officials.[3] He became the head coach for the Japanese Olympic judo team for the 1992 Summer Olympics, but died a year later in 1993 from colon cancer at age 56.[3]
References
- ^ Akio Kaminaga. sports-reference.com
- ^ "東京オリンピックから40年". Japanese Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 2008-01-15.
- ^ a b c d e f g "プロジェクトX -挑戦者たち 「宿命の最強決戦」 -柔道金メダル・師弟の絆-". NHK.
External links
Media related to Akio Kaminaga at Wikimedia Commons
- Akio Kaminaga at the International Judo Federation
- Akio Kaminaga at JudoInside.com
- Akio Kaminaga at AllJudo.net (in French)
- Akio Kaminaga at Olympics.com
- Akio Kaminaga at Olympedia
- Akio Kaminaga at The-Sports.org
- Videos of Kaminaga at the Olympics 1964 Tokyo