Mitsuo Tsukahara
Encyclopedia
Mitsuo Tsukahara is a Japanese artistic gymnast. He was five times an Olympic Gold Medalist. His remained active in the sport after his retirement from competition. He served as vice president of the Japan Gymnastic Association.
Tsukahara competed throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, retiring from gymnastics competition in 1978 after the World Championships. Winning 5 Gold Medals, 1 Silver Medal, and 3 Bronze Medals, Tsukahara was an important contributor in Japan's win at the team competition in 3 consecutive olympic games—1968, 1972, and 1976. He has remained connected to the gymnastics world, partly through his son Naoya Tsukahara
, who was also a multi-medalist at the World Championships and Olympic Games throughout the late 1990s and who still competes as of Summer 2009.
Tsukahara's name is one of the most famous in gymnastics due to its association with two widely performed skills. The first is the full-twisting double salto in the tuck position (with the full twist in the first salto). The Men's Gymnastics Code of Points credits Tsukahara for premiering this skill on floor exercise and horizontal bar, and he regularly performed it on these events throughout his career. In fact, in many nations, it is customary to call a full-twisting double salto tumble or dismount a "Tsukahara" on 'all' apparatus, both for men and women. This skill is sometimes called a "Moon Somersault" or "Moon Salto".
Tsukahara is also credited with having invented a vaulting
technique called the "Tsukahara vault
". This vault is generally described as a roundoff over the horse/table into a backward salto, with or without twist. However, until 2005, when the horse was replaced with a table, females usually performed Tsukahara-type vaults on the side horse with a half-twist entry onto the horse rather than a quarter twist entry. Tsukahara himself did this vault in a stretched position, generally without twist.
The name "Tsukahara" is so strongly associated with the 1/4-on entry, that it is routinely misapplied to the more commonly used Kasamatsu-style vault, in which the 1/4 turn off the horse "untwists" so that the salto is initiated forwards or sideways. In fact, Tsukahara himself, who entered the horse on his left side but also twisted to the left, would have done a Kasamatsu vault if he had tried to twist. However, the Tsukahara style is certainly still very popular among gymnasts who:
.
Tsukahara competed throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, retiring from gymnastics competition in 1978 after the World Championships. Winning 5 Gold Medals, 1 Silver Medal, and 3 Bronze Medals, Tsukahara was an important contributor in Japan's win at the team competition in 3 consecutive olympic games—1968, 1972, and 1976. He has remained connected to the gymnastics world, partly through his son Naoya Tsukahara
Naoya Tsukahara
Naoya Tsukahara is a Japanese artistic gymnast and Olympic Gold Medalist. He is the son of the former Japanese gymnast, Mitsuo Tsukahara, who was also a multi Gold Medalist in Olympic Games...
, who was also a multi-medalist at the World Championships and Olympic Games throughout the late 1990s and who still competes as of Summer 2009.
Tsukahara's name is one of the most famous in gymnastics due to its association with two widely performed skills. The first is the full-twisting double salto in the tuck position (with the full twist in the first salto). The Men's Gymnastics Code of Points credits Tsukahara for premiering this skill on floor exercise and horizontal bar, and he regularly performed it on these events throughout his career. In fact, in many nations, it is customary to call a full-twisting double salto tumble or dismount a "Tsukahara" on 'all' apparatus, both for men and women. This skill is sometimes called a "Moon Somersault" or "Moon Salto".
Tsukahara is also credited with having invented a vaulting
Vault (gymnastics)
The vault is an artistic gymnastics apparatus, as well as the skill performed using that apparatus. Vaulting is also the action of performing a vault. Both male and female gymnasts perform the vault...
technique called the "Tsukahara vault
Tsukahara (vault)
The Tsukahara can refer to a specific vault and a family of vaults in artistic gymnastics. The first Tsukahara vault was performed by Mitsuo Tsukahara in 1972....
". This vault is generally described as a roundoff over the horse/table into a backward salto, with or without twist. However, until 2005, when the horse was replaced with a table, females usually performed Tsukahara-type vaults on the side horse with a half-twist entry onto the horse rather than a quarter twist entry. Tsukahara himself did this vault in a stretched position, generally without twist.
The name "Tsukahara" is so strongly associated with the 1/4-on entry, that it is routinely misapplied to the more commonly used Kasamatsu-style vault, in which the 1/4 turn off the horse "untwists" so that the salto is initiated forwards or sideways. In fact, Tsukahara himself, who entered the horse on his left side but also twisted to the left, would have done a Kasamatsu vault if he had tried to twist. However, the Tsukahara style is certainly still very popular among gymnasts who:
- do the basic vault in tucked, piked, or stretched position
- twist the opposite direction of their entry side, e.g. Gervasio DeferrGervasio DeferrGervasio Deferr Angel is a former gymnast from Spain, who started in gymnastics at the age of five, and became the number one athlete of his country in that sport....
, who repeated as Olympic Vault Champion in 2004 by premiering the Tsukahara with 2.5 twists - do two saltos instead of just one, e.g. Leszek BlanikLeszek BlanikLeszek Blanik is a Polish gymnast, World and Olympic champion in vault. He was the first to perform a handspring double front vault in piked position which now has been named after him.-Olympics:...
, the 2008 Olympic Vault Champion, who is one of many gymnasts to perform a Tsukahara double pike.
Honors
In November 2009, Tsukahara was awarded with a Medal of Honour with purple ribbon by the Government of JapanGovernment of Japan
The government of Japan is a constitutional monarchy where the power of the Emperor is very limited. As a ceremonial figurehead, he is defined by the 1947 constitution as "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people". Power is held chiefly by the Prime Minister of Japan and other elected...
.