Osamu Watanabe
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese
Olympic
gold medalist in freestyle wrestling
. Born in 1940, he attended Chuo University
during a time when they were viewed as one of Japan
's dominant collegiate wrestling programs.
In 1962, he took first at the freestyle world championships and followed with first place finishes at that year's Asia Games as well as the following year's world championship. Then, at age 24, before his home nation, he took a gold medal in the 1964 Olympics
held in Tokyo
. He gave up no points during the tournament, spending a total of 10 minutes on the mat altogether. Perhaps most importantly, he retired afterwards with an unbeaten record of 186-0 (without having given up any points through any of his matches), making him the only modern Olympian in any style of wrestling to go unbeaten throughout the entirety of his career.
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
Olympic
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
gold medalist in freestyle wrestling
Freestyle wrestling
Freestyle wrestling is a style of amateur wrestling that is practised throughout the world. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic games. It is, along with track and field, one of the oldest organized sports in history...
. Born in 1940, he attended Chuo University
Chuo University
Chuo University is a one of the Japanese leading universities. Thus it is competitive in several rankings such as shown below.-General Rankings:The university has been ranked 27th, 25th, 34th during 2008-2010 respectively in the ranking "Truly Strong Universities" by Toyo Keizai.-Research...
during a time when they were viewed as one of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
's dominant collegiate wrestling programs.
In 1962, he took first at the freestyle world championships and followed with first place finishes at that year's Asia Games as well as the following year's world championship. Then, at age 24, before his home nation, he took a gold medal in the 1964 Olympics
1964 Summer Olympics
The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...
held in Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
. He gave up no points during the tournament, spending a total of 10 minutes on the mat altogether. Perhaps most importantly, he retired afterwards with an unbeaten record of 186-0 (without having given up any points through any of his matches), making him the only modern Olympian in any style of wrestling to go unbeaten throughout the entirety of his career.