Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #56 - Eizo Kenmotsu

Eizo Kenmotsu

Japan

Artistic Gymnastics

Overall Ranks

#13 among Gymnasts

#7 among Male Gymnasts

#5 among Japanese Olympians

#4 among Japanese Gymnasts

Olympic Results

1968

Team - Gold

Horizontal Bar - Bronze

1972

Individual All-Around - Silver

Team - Gold

Parallel Bars - Bronze

Pommel Horse - Bronze

1976

Team - Gold

Horizontal Bar - Silver

Pommel Horse - Silver

Total

Events - 24

Gold - 3

Silver - 3

Bronze - 3

Eizo Kenmotsu was born on February 13, 1948 in Okayama, Japan, and was a phenom at gymnastics, as he was the youngest Japanese gymnast to win an Olympic gold medal at the time, a mark he held for 48 years. He made his Olympic debut when he was just 20 years old.

He started out with the team event in Mexico City in 1968, where the Japanese had won the past 2 gold medals, and he helped to keep that streak alive, as Japan came out 4.8 points ahead of the USSR, and Kenmotsu was the third-highest scoring member of the team. This was the win that made him the youngest Japanese gold medal gymnast for so many years.

The individual all-around was determined by each gymnast's scores in the team event, and even though he was #3 on the Japanese team, he was #4 overall, missing out on a medal by 0.75 points. He qualified for the event finals in every event except the rings, which was quite a feat at his age.

In the floor exercise, he was 4th after qualifying, but only scored a 9.3 in the final, dropping him to 6th. The vault was exactly the same story, except that his final score was a 9.18. He was the 5th qualifier in the parallel bars, and he held that position after the final as well, and the exact same thing happened in the pommel horse.

He also qualified 5th in the horizontal bar, but a strong final performance earned him a 9.7, which moved him up to the bronze medal, his first individual Olympic gold. While he qualified for five finals, he wasn't in medal position in any of them beforehand, so the fact that he was able to take one anyway was impressive.

In the 1970 World Championships, he won the individual all-around gold, along with three individual event silvers, so he was one of the big stars to watch in Munich in 1972. He was a big part of the Japanese winning their 4th straight team gold, and this time they beat the Soviets by 7.2 points.

For the first time, the individual all-around held a final round, with the top 36 gymnasts from the team event qualifying. Kenmotsu qualified in 2nd place, behind Sawao Kato, his teammate, by 0.35 points. In the final, he finished in the top 7 in every apparatus, and had the high score on the pommel horse, but he only outscored Kato by 0.1 overall, so he remained in 2nd and took the silver medal.

This time, he qualified for all 6 event finals. In the floor exercise, he was part of a 5-way tie for second after qualifying, but a 9.4 in the final left him in 4th place, 0.1 short of a medal. In the vault, he started out in 4th, and held his position after the final, again leaving him short of a medal, this one by 0.25 points.

He was #2 in qualifying in the parallel bars, and had a good performance that earned him a 9.6 in the final, but his teammate, Shigeru Kasamatsu, scored 9.75 in the final to pass him, dropping Kenmotsu down to the bronze. In the horizontal bar, he was again unable to move up from 4th place after qualifying, leaving him with his 3rd close call of the games.

In the rings, he had been tied for third after qualifying, but had the worst performance of the final, and finished in 5th. He had been the top qualifier in the pommel horse, but a final score of 9.4 allowed two others to pass him, and he ended up finishing with yet another bronze medal, his second of the games and third overall.

In the 1974 World Championships, he won all-around bronze, along with a gold and 2 bronzes in the individual events. In the 1976 Olympic in Montreal, he helped the Japanese win their 5th straight gold medal, but this time it was close, with the USSR coming up just 0.4 short of overtaking their long-time rivals.

That year, the individual all-around was updated again, this time allowing only 3 competitors from each country, so even though he was 6th in qualifying, he was 4th among the Japanese gymnasts, and didn't get to compete. He did, however, qualify to compete in 4 of the individual event finals.

The individual finals now only allowed 2 gymnasts per nation, which allowed Kenmotsu to compete in the floor exercise, where he was 7th in qualifying, but since 3 Soviets ahead of him were left out, he was #4 going into the final. His final score was lower than the other 5, however, leaving him with a 6th place finish.

In the horizontal bar, he was #2 in qualifying behind Mitsuo Tsukahara, who ended up having a great final score, so Kenmotsu was forced to accept the silver, his first in an individual event final. He was the lowest qualifier in the rings, and only moved up one spot in the final. In the pommel horse, he had qualified #2, and scored a 9.8 in the final, but a 9.9 from Zoltan Magyar of Hungary prevented him from moving up, leaving him to take another silver.

He won 4 more World Championship medals in 1978, but retired in 1979, before the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, which Japan ended up boycotting anyway. He went on to coach gymnastics for many years. Even though he never won an individual gold, he won three silvers and three bronzes, and reached 15 of a possible 18 event finals during his Olympic career, making him one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #57 - Vasyl Lomachenko

Vasyl Lomachenko

Ukraine

Boxing

Overall Ranks

#1 among Ukrainian Olympians

#1 among Boxers

Olympic Results

2008

Featherweight - Gold

2012

Lightweight - Gold

Total

Events - 2

Gold - 2

Vasyl Anatoliyovych Lomachenko was born on February 17, 1988 in Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, USSR, which is now part of Ukraine. His father was a boxing coach, but he didn't allow Vasyl to box until he had trained in dancing and gymnastics. His first major competition was the 2007 World Championships, where he made it all the way to the final before losing, in what would be the only loss of his amateur career.

He made his Olympic debut in 2008 in Beijing, fighting in the featherweight division, and because Olympic boxing does not seed its athletes, Lomachenko had his first bout against Albert Selimov of Russia, the man who had beaten him the year before. It was his closest match of the tournament, ending up with a 14-7 win to avenge his previous loss. His next three matches were all blowouts, with margins of at least 9 in each, and the gold medal match was headed that way, with a score of 9-1, when he scored a TKO to end the match. Along with his gold medal, he was named outstanding boxer of the Olympics.

He won the 2009 World Championship, then, after the featherweight division was discontinued, he moved up to lightweight and won the 2011 World Championship in his new division. He competed at lightweight in the 2012 Olympics, and after a huge win in his first bout, he had a couple of slightly closer matches, winning by 5 and 3, before a 19-9 win in the gold medal match, earning him a second straight gold, and the very rare feat of winning gold in two different weight classes. 

He turned pro in 2013, and didn't compete in the Olympics again, but compiled an 18-3 record as a pro over 11 years, and was the quickest to ever win a world title, which he achieved in his third pro fight. His second Olympic gold was very strong, but his first was legendary, with big margins in every fight, making him the greatest Olympic boxer ever, and one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #58 - Maurice Greene

Maurice Greene

USA

Athletics

Overall Ranks

#19 among American Olympians

#15 among Track & Field Athletes

#14 among Male American Olympians

#11 among American Track & Field Athletes

#11 among Male Track & Field Athletes

#9 among Male American Track & Field Athletes

Olympic Results

2000

100m - Gold

4x100m Relay - Gold

2004

100m - Bronze

4x100m Relay - Silver

Total

Events - 4

Gold - 2

Silver - 1

Bronze - 1

Maurice Greene was born on July 23, 1974 in Kansas City, Kansas, and played football and ran track in high school, but focused exclusively on track after getting a scholarship to the University of Kansas. He competed in his first World Championship in 1995, and won his first one in 1997. In 1999, he won the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay at the world championships, just the third man ever to do that, after Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson.

He also set the world record in the 100m in 1999, dropping it to 9.79 seconds. In the Sydney Olympics, he opened with the 100m, and after winning his first two races easily, he had the fastest time in the semifinals, then went on to win the final in a time of 9.87 seconds, 0.12 seconds ahead of the silver medalist, to earn his first Olympic gold medal.

Greene also ran the anchor leg for the USA in all 3 rounds of the 4x100m relay the next week. They had the fastest time in each of the first two rounds, and weren't challenged in the final, where Greene was handed a comfortable lead and coasted to the finish for another gold medal, this one by 0.29 seconds over Brazil.

Greene repeated as 100m World Champion in 2001, but struggled with injuries over the next couple of years. He watched Tim Montgomery break his world record in 2002, but then he got it back when Montgomery failed a drug test. He recovered in time to make the Olympic team that was headed to Athens in 2004.

He again started with the 100m, and he again won his first two heats, but in the semifinal, he came in 3rd, even though he ran it in 9.97 seconds. In the final, it was an extremely close race, with 4 runners within .04 seconds of each other, but Greene ended up taking the bronze medal in that mass finish, .02 seconds short of another gold.

Greene again ran the anchor leg for the favored Americans in the 4x100m relay, in which they easily made the final. In that race, the first two handoffs for the USA were clunky, and it allowed the British team to gain the lead, but after a good handoff to Greene, he bolted for the finish, but came up just short, losing by .01 second to end up with a silver medal.

His world record was beaten in 2005 by Asafa Powell, who lowered it to 9.76 seconds, and by 2008, Greene had retired from athletics. He has since worked as a track coach and PE teacher. He had a very strong peak, but it only coincided with one Olympic games, which is why he only has 2 gold medals, but he was extremely close to 2 more while coming off nagging injuries, and for all of that, he is one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Football Predictions - 17 Sep thru 21 Sep

Upset picks are in italics.

Thursday

Syracuse at Pittsburgh - Panthers by 18.5

Detroit at Buffalo - Bills by 12

Friday

(5) Miami at Wake Forest - Hurricanes by 8.5

(22) Houston at (13) Texas Tech - Red Raiders by 10.5

Portland State at (21) Oregon - Ducks by 23

Saturday

Coastal Carolina at Delaware - Blue Hens by 5

(2) Georgia at Arkansas - Bulldogs by 7.5

Kent State at (6) Ohio State - Buckeyes by 32.5

Buffalo at (14) Penn State - Nittany Lions by 31.5

Arizona State at Kansas - Sun Devils by 5.5

Tulane at Kansas State - Wildcats by 12

Bowling Green at Iowa State - Cyclones by 31.5

Mercer at Georgia Tech - Yellowjackets by 7.5

North Carolina at Clemson - Tigers by 1

Akron at Minnesota - Zips by 0.5

North Texas at Texas State - Mean Green by 14

Eastern Michigan at Wisconsin - Badgers by 16.5

NC State at Vanderbilt - Commodores by 0.5

Wyoming at Central Michigan - Chippewas by 4

Maine at Boston College - Eagles by 8.5

Southern Illinois at Illinois - Illini by 17.5

Temple at Toledo - Rockets by 15

Kentucky at (9) Texas A&M - Aggies by 26

Florida State at (10) Alabama - Crimson Tide by 25.5

(12) USC at Rutgers - Trojans by 20

(16) SMU at (23) Louisville - Mustangs by 0.5

Utah State at (17) Utah - Utes by 24.5

UTEP at (19) Michigan - Wolverines by 11

Miami (OH) at Cincinnati - Bearcats by 11

Wagner at California - Bears by 11.5

Duquesne at Washington State - Cougars by 17.5

Stonehill at UMass - Minutemen by 20.5

Western Kentucky at (4) Indiana - Hoosiers by 37

Northern Iowa at (18) Iowa - Hawkeyes by 20.5

Stanford at Duke - Blue Devils by 26

Ball State at Liberty - Cardinals by 1.5

Louisiana Tech at Baylor - Bears by 7

Mississippi State at South Carolina - Bulldogs by 7

SE Louisiana at UL Monroe - Warhawks by 10.5

East Carolina at Old Dominion - Monarchs by 1.5

FIU at FAU - Golden Panthers by 2

Charlotte at App State - Mountaineers by 26.5

Marshall at Missouri State - Bears by 10.5

Troy at (20) Missouri - Tigers by 30

Florida at Auburn - Tigers by 4.5

Georgia State at UCF - Knights by 5

Murray State at Oklahoma State - Cowboys by 16

UConn at Southern Miss - Golden Eagles by 10

UT Martin at Memphis - Tigers by 26.5

Western Michigan at Rice - Broncos by 4.5

Delaware State at South Florida - Bulls by 24.5

Nevada at Middle Tennessee - Blue Raiders by 16

Ohio at South Alabama - Jaguars by 15

Georgia Southern at Jacksonville State - Gamecocks by 2

Nicholls at Sam Houston - Bearkats by 4.5

North Dakota at Nebraska - Cornhuskers by 21.5

Eastern Washington at Washington - Huskies by 16.5

Michigan State at (3) Notre Dame - Irish by 22

(7) LSU at (8) Ole Miss - Tigers by 5.5

(11) BYU at Colorado State - Cougars by 6

New Mexico at (24) Oklahoma - Sooners by 11

West Virginia vs. (25) Virginia - Cavaliers by 11.5

Colorado at Northwestern - Buffaloes by 6

Virginia Tech at Maryland - Terrapins by 10.5

Kennesaw State at (15) Tennessee - Volunteers by 31.5

UTSA at (1) Texas - Longhorns by 11

Arkansas State at TCU - Horned Frogs by 5

East Texas A&M at Tulsa - Golden Hurricane by 17

UAB at Louisiana - Ragin Cajuns by 14.5

South Dakota at Boise State - Broncos by 30

James Madison at San Diego State - Aztecs by 7

Northern Illinois at Arizona - Wildcats by 27.5

North Dakota State at Sacramento State - Bison by 9

Purdue at UCLA - Bruins by 23.5

Montana at Oregon State - Beavers by 12.5

Fresno State at San Jose State - Spartans by 0.5

Sunday

Carolina at Atlanta - Falcons by 11.5

Minnesota at Chicago - Bears by 4

Philadelphia at Tennessee - Eagles by 20

Pittsburgh at New England - Patriots by 12

Green Bay at NY Jets - Jets by 1

Cleveland at Tampa Bay - Buccaneers by 13.5

New Orleans at Baltimore - Ravens by 13

Cincinnati at Houston - Texans by 6

Jacksonville at Denver - Jaguars by 8.5

Las Vegas at LA Chargers - Chargers by 0.5

Seattle at Arizona - Seahawks by 5.5

Washington at Dallas - Commanders by 1.5

Miami at San Francisco - 49ers by 44.5

Indianapolis at Kansas City - Chiefs by 21.5

Monday

NY Giants at LA Rams - Rams by 3.5

Results

NCAA Football: 70-16 (.814) 157-28 overall (.849)

Upsets: 3-8 (.273) 5-12 overall (.294)

NFL: 9-7 (.563) 

Upsets: 0-3 (.000)

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #59 - Nicole Uphoff

Nicole Uphoff

Germany

Equestrian Dressage

Overall Ranks

#2 among Dressage Riders

#2 among German Olympians

Olympic Results

1988

Individual - Gold

Team - Gold

1992

Individual - Gold

Team - Gold

Total

Events - 5

Gold - 4

Nicole Uphoff was born on January 25, 1967 in Duisburg, West Germany, and began riding in competitions with her horse, Rembrandt, when she was 18 years old, and by the time she was 21, she was recognized as one of the best in the world, and made her first Olympic team, riding for West Germany.

In the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, her first event was the team competition, where up to 4 riders from each nation went through the process, and the three highest scores counted toward the overall score. Uphoff was the highest scorer of any competitor overall, and with one of her teammates finishing in 3rd, the German team won easily, 138 points above the Swiss, who came in second.

The top 18 riders advanced to the final in the individual event, with only 3 per nation allowed to compete, leaving one West German out. Uphoff had scored 1458 in the team round, just 3 points ahead of the next qualifier, but in the final, she was nearly perfect, and raised the bar to 1521 points, which allowed her to run away with the gold by 59 points.

She followed up her pair of Olympic golds with 2 pairs of World Championship golds, and she was the favorite heading to Barcelona in 1992, competing for the newly reunified Germany. In the team event, she again had the highest score, with 1768 under a different scoring system than before, and she was 6 points ahead of Isabell Werth, her teammate, which helped them win the team gold by nearly 500 points.

The top 16 riders advanced to the individual final, except that the 4th German rider was left out again, even though they were #4 in qualifying. In the final, the German trio again finished at the top, sweeping the medals, with Uphoff finishing 75 points ahead of Werth to successfully defend her gold medal, becoming just the second rider in history to win twice in a row, while Rembrandt became the first horse ever to repeat as champion. 

In the next World Championship, she ended up only in second place, and by 1996, she failed to make the German team for the Atlanta Olympics, but as defending individual champion, she had the right to compete in the individual event, which she accepted. That event was expanded by a round that year, and she was in 9th after qualifying and 8th after the first round of the final, but dropped out before the final round, which was won by Werth, her teammate.

Rembrandt retired after the 1996 Olympics, and Uphoff spent a few years looking for a new horse. She won a competition in 1999 on a new horse, Borbet Rubinstein, but again failed to make the Olympic team in 2000, and never again attempted to return to the Olympics, though she didn't officially retire until 2013. While she was at the top of her game, she was unbeatable, winning all 4 of her Olympic gold medals in blowout fashion, making her one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #60 - Marit Bjorgen

Marit Bjorgen

Norway

Cross Country Skiing

Overall Ranks

#4 among Norwegian Olympians

#3 among Cross Country Skiers

#2 among Norwegian Cross Country Skiers

#1 among Female Norwegian Olympians

Olympic Results

2002

Relay - Silver

2006

10 km - Silver

2010

Sprint - Gold

10 km - Bronze

30 km - Silver

Skiathlon - Gold

Relay - Gold

2014

30 km - Gold

Skiathlon - Gold

Team Sprint - Gold

2018

10 km - Bronze

30 km - Gold

Skiathlon - Silver

Relay - Gold

Team Sprint - Bronze

Total

Events - 24

Gold - 8

Silver - 4

Bronze - 3

Marit Bjorgen was born on March 21, 1980 in Trondheim, Norway, and though her Olympic career started slowly, by the time she retired she was undoubtedly one of the all-time greats. She made her first Olympic team in 2002, when she was 21 years old, competing in Salt Lake City.

Her first Olympic event was the 15 km race, where she finished in 50th place, more than 7 minutes behind the gold medalist. She then took the first leg for Norway in the relay, where they were expected to win due to Russia losing a couple of their best skiers to doping. Bjorgen had Norway in 4th place after her leg, 14 seconds behind Germany, but the next skier took the lead back late in her leg, and they held it until the final 100 meters, when the final German skier shot ahead and took the gold, leaving Norway to take silver after losing by 1.3 seconds.

She also competed in the 30km, where she finished in 14 place, just over 6 minutes behind the official champion, but nearly 8 minutes behind the original champion, who lost her medal to doping. In 2003, she broke through at the World Championship, winning gold in the sprint, then followed that up with 3 golds, a silver, and a bronze in 2005. 

Expectations were high for Bjorgen heading to Turin, but she got bronchitis the week before the games, and it affected her performance. She withdrew halfway through her first event, the skiathlon, where she was a pre-race favorite. In the team sprint, the Canadian skier snapped a pole early in the final, and the Norwegian coach gave her a new one, enabling her to stay with the leaders. Norway never took the lead, but remained close for most of the race, eventually finishing in 4th. Many were angry at the coach for helping an opponent, but the Canadians, who finished 2nd, were very grateful.

She was the favorite in the 10km race, but Sara Renner of Canada led most of the race, until she dropped off in the final quarter of the race. At that point, Kristina Smigun of Estonia took the lead, and she pulled away from the pack to win easily. Bjorgen had her best finish of the Olympics though, outskiing the rest of the pack to come in second and earn a silver medal.

In the relay, Bjorgen was assigned to the anchor leg, and they were one of the favorites. They stayed near the front for the entire race, and Bjorgen was in 2nd place when she took off for her leg, but she didn't ski well, and the team dropped to 5th and out of the medals. She failed to advance out of the quarterfinal round in the sprint, and left Turin before the 30km, which would have been her final event.

She didn't perform well in the next two world championships, but returned for the 2010 Olympics, where she would finally perform up to her potential. She started out in the 10km race, where she was able to finished in 3rd place, earning a bronze medal to open the games. 

Her second event was the sprint, and she was the fastest qualifier this time, then went on to win both of her heats to advance easily to the final. In the final, Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland kept it close for a while, but in the final 300 meters, Bjorgen pulled away to win by over a second, and she finally had her first Olympic gold medal.

Next up was the 15 km skiathlon, and Bjorgen was able to stay with the lead pack for most of the race, which consisted of 7 skiers at the halfway point, when they switched out their skis. The lead pack was down to 4 by the final section of the race, when Bjorgen pulled away from the others to win gold by 9 seconds, while the other three finished within half a second of each other.

She was again assigned the anchor leg in the relay. Sweden led them by 2 seconds after the first leg, then Italy took the lead in the second leg, with Norway 8 seconds back, but their third skier took the lead right at the switch-over point, barely ahead of Italy, but Bjorgen left Italy in the dust, and by the end, she coasted to the finish line and won the race by over 25 seconds.

Before her final event, the 30 km, her chief competitor, Kowalczyk, questioned her use of an asthma drug, which was normally banned, but for which Bjorgen had a valid exemption. There were several skiers close together through 20 km, but at that point Bjorgen and Kowalczyk pulled away from the field, with Bjorgen eventually gaining a 6-second advantage with just a few kilometers to go. On the final climb, Kowalczyk caught up, and it came down to a final sprint to the finish, with Bjorgen coming up just short, losing by 0.3 seconds and finishing up her great Olympics with a silver.

She won 4 golds and a silver in each of the next 2 World Championships, meaning that expectations were still high in Sochi. She started out with the skiathlon, where she was the defending champ. A group of 6 reached the midway point together, and five of them remained together for the entire second half. On the final climb, Charlotte Kalla of Sweden tried to break away, but Bjorgen kept pace, and the pair ended up in a sprint for the finish, which Bjorgen won by 1.8 seconds.

In the sprint, she qualified in third, and advanced to the semifinal, but in that race she finished last and failed to make the final. In the 10km, Bjorgen was in second place for the majority of the race, behind Kowalczyk's time, but she faded over the final 2 km and finished in 5th. They were also expected to win the relay, but fell behind early and were never able to make up group, spending nearly the entire race in 5th place.

After a few disappointing finishes, she finally put it back together in the team sprint. Norway was in second when she started her first leg, but she took the lead quickly, and they never gave it back, extending it each time that Bjorgen was on the course, and they ended up winning the gold medal by over 9 seconds over Finland.

In the final event, the 30km, Bjorgen and two Norwegian teammates pulled away from the field after 10 km, extending their lead to a full minute and maintaining it for the remainder of the race. The three took turns in the lead, working as a team until the final 2 km, when Bjorgen and Therese Johaug left their teammate behind, then sprinted it out for the finish, which Bjorgen took by 2.6 seconds to win her 3rd gold of the games.

She came back for one final run at the Olympics in 2018. She entered 5 events, the first of which was the skiathlon, which she had won the last two times. She was in the back of the lead pack of 9 with 3 km to go when Kalla pulled away from the pack, and she had to fight her way through the pack before pursuing Kalla, and by that point it was too late, though Bjorgen was able to come through with a silver medal.

Bjorgen was one of the favorites in the 10km, and she was the first of the favorites to compete, setting the mark to beat. Unfortunately, two were able to beat it, and Bjorgen ended up having to settle for bronze. In the relay Bjorgen skied the anchor leg again. Norway was behind early, 30 seconds behind Russia at the midway point, but the third skier closed the gap, and Bjorgen was only 3 seconds behind when she took over, and she soon took the lead over Sweden and their sprint champion. She maintained the lead, never allowing a chance to get passed, and ended up winning the gold medal by 2 seconds.

In the team sprint, Norway, Sweden, and the USA were together heading into the final downhill, with Sweden leading and Norway in second heading into the final sprint, when Jessie Diggins of the USA passed Falla of Norway, then caught Nilsson of Sweden at the finish line to take the gold, while Norway ended up with a bronze medal.

In her final Olympic event, the 30 km, Bjorgen left no doubt who would win from the start. She broke away from the pack at the 10 km mark, and was 51 seconds ahead by the midway point, and 80 seconds ahead with 10 km to go. Her lead ballooned to over 2 minutes in the final kilometers, when she finally slowed down to celebrate, which cost her some time, leaving her a win by "only" 1 minute and 50 seconds.

She retired after the 2018 Olympics as the most decorated Winter Olympian of all time, with 15 total medals, which is #3 among all Olympians ever. She also had the most Winter Olympic golds of all time until this year, when she was passed by Johannes Hosflot Klaebo, also of Norway, who currently has 11. Even though she only won a single medal at each of her first two Olympics, she overcame and retired as one of the greatest Olympians of all time.

Top 150 Olympic Athletes: #61 - Yukio Endo

Yukio Endo

Japan

Artistic Gymnastics

Overall Ranks

#14 among Gymnasts

#8 among Male Gymnasts

#6 among Japanese Olympians

#5 among Japanese Gymnasts

Olympic Results

1960

Team - Gold

1964

Individual All-Around - Gold

Team - Gold

Floor Exercise - Silver

Parallel Bars - Gold

1968

Team - Gold

Vault - Silver

Total

Events - 24

Gold - 5

Silver - 2

Yukio Endo was born on January 18, 1937 in Yanaisado, Japan, the son of a pharmacist, and participated in gymnastics as a youth, but graduated from college before he made the Japanese Olympic team for the first time in 1960.

When they arrived in Rome, the Soviet team had won the past 2 team gold medals, with the Japanese taking silver in 1956. Endo was the 3rd-highest-scoring member of the team during the team event in Rome, and for the first time in their history, the Japanese won team gold, beating the Soviets by 2.5 points.

The individual all-around medals were determined based on performances during the team event, and Endo finished in 5th place among all participants, falling behind 2 of his teammates, and 2 members of the Soviet team. The top 6 in each individual apparatus qualified for the event finals, and Endo qualified for 2, the vault and the horizontal bar. He was tied for 6th on the parallel bars, but the tiebreaker went to Yury Titov of the USSR. He ended up finishing 4th in the horizontal bar and 5th in the vault, putting him in the top 5 in four events, but he earned only the team medal that year.

In 1962, he won the World Championship in the floor exercise, his only individual win in the world championships. By 1964, he had become the strongest member of the Japanese team, and when they went to defend their gold medal in Tokyo, they were successful, once again beating the Soviets by 2.5 points.

When the individual all-around scored were tabulated, Endo had pulled off a gold medal victory that was a small surprise. He had taken all-around silver at the last world championship, but he dominated this time, winning by 0.55 points, which was more than the gap between 2nd and 8th place. He also qualified for 5 of the 6 event finals, failing only in the pommel horse.

Endo was the top qualifier in floor exercise, and was the defending world champion, but in the final, he had his worst performance, and fell down to silver, while Franco Menichelli of Italy leapfrogged him for gold. He was the #3 qualifier in the vault, but another poor performance dropped him to 6th after the final.

The parallel bars were different, however. He was the top qualifier once again, but barely ahead of 3 others. He put up a 9.9 score in the final to run away with the gold, while nobody else exceeded 9.7. He was third qualifier in the horizontal bar, but fell to 5th after the final, and finished 6th in the rings despite qualifying at the top. He finished his home Olympics with 3 golds and a silver, but he could have had so much more.

Endo was back for his 3rd Olympics in 1968, but he was no longer the star of the Japanese team. He still performed well in the team event, but was 5th best on the strong Japanese team, as they won their third straight gold medal, this time beating the Soviets by 4.8 points.

Even though he was the 5th-best member of the Japanese team, that still was good enough to place him 8th overall in the individual all-around, and he qualified for 2 event finals, the vault and the horizontal bar. Endo was tied for second after qualifying in the vault, but after teammate Takeshi Kato struggled in the final, Mikhail Voronin of the USSR moved up to gold, while Endo stayed in silver medal position. Endo was put in the horizontal bar final after Sawao Kato decided not to compete, but he didn't improve from his 6th place entry into the final.

He retired after the 1968 Olympics, and became a coach and professor. He coached the Japanese team at the 1972 Olympics, where they again won gold, and was later president of the Japanese Olympic Committee. He died of cancer in Tokyo on March 25, 2009. With his qualifying scores, especially in 1964, he could easily have ended up with 11 Olympic medals, but he did end up with 7, five of them gold, including a dominant all-around win, making him one of the greatest Olympians of all time.