Hiromasa Tanaka (

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

: 田中宏昌; born 28 September 1981) is a Japanese

decathlete The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄθ ...

. He won five straight national decathlon titles from 2004 to 2008 and was the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

list in the event at the

2009 Asian Athletics Championships The 18th Asian Athletics Championships were held in Guangzhou, People's Republic of China, China in 2009. Results Men's results Track Field Women's results Track Field Medal table Participating nations * (12) * (1) * ...

. He also represented Japan at the 2007 World Championships. Hailing from

Ōbatake, Yamaguchi was a town located in Kuga District, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 3,583 and a density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The s ...

, Tanaka established himself domestically with back-to-back decathlon wins at the

Japanese Athletics Championships The is an annual outdoor track and field competition, organized by Japan Association of Athletics Federations. Currently it takes place in June or July. The competition is also for the qualifying trial for the Japanese national team of internatio ...

in 2004 and 2005. On his first international appearance, he won the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

at the

2005 Asian Athletics Championships The 2005 Asian Athletics Championships were the 16th edition of the international athletics competition between Asian nations. It was held in Incheon, South Korea between 1–4 September 2005. Results Men * The original bronze medalist, An ...

, finishing behind

Pavel Andreev Pavel Vladimirovich Andreev ( uz, Павел Владимирович Андреев; born November 24, 1978 in Tashkent) is an Uzbekistani decathlete. He is a two-time Olympian and a three-time medalist for the decathlon at the Asian Athletics ...

and Kim Kun-Woo. He took a third consecutive national title in 2006, a winning streak that would continue until 2009 when he was beaten by

Daisuke Ikeda is a Japanese professional wrestler who is currently wrestling in the Independent circuit in Japan. Since debuting in 1993, Ikeda has worked for a number of promotions in Japan, including Battlarts, All Japan Pro Wrestling, Pro Wrestling Noah an ...

. At the 2006 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships he missed out on a medal in the

indoor heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek επτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hept ...

, although he achieved 5340 points in his first major outing in the event. He scored a personal best total of 7803 points for decathlon in

Kanazawa is the capital city of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 466,029 in 203,271 households, and a population density of 990 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Overview Cityscape File:もてな ...

in June 2006, but at his first

Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years among athletes from all over Asia. The Games were regulated by the Asian Games Federation (AGF) from the first Games in New Delhi, India, until t ...

that year he was far off this form and, after he failed to produce a mark in the

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

, he finished in tenth place. As the reigning national champion, Tanaka gained selection for the

2007 World Championships in Athletics The 11th World Championships in Athletics, () under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007. 200 of the IAAF's 212 member federat ...

, held in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

, and he finished in 19th place overall. Tanaka won his first indoor medal at the

2008 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships The 2008 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships was an international indoor athletics event took place in Doha, Qatar, between 14 and 16 February. Results Men Women Medal table Participating nations A total of 29 nations were represented by ...

, taking the bronze at the event in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

. In the absence of

Dmitriy Karpov Dmitriy Vasilyevich Karpov (Дмитрий Васильевич Карпов; born 23 July 1981 in Karaganda) is an athlete from Kazakhstan who competes in decathlon and heptathlon (the latter during the winter season). He won the bronze medal ...

and the defending champion

Ahmed Hassan Moussa Ahmad Hassan Moussa (Arabic: احمد حسن موسى ; born 17 June 1981) is a Qatari decathlete. He represented his country at the 2004 Summer Olympics and is a two time Asian Champion in the event (2002 and 2007). Moussa was the bronze meda ...

, he won the

.With five wins, Japan halts Chinese momentum in Guangzhou - Asian champs, day 4
IAAF (14 November 2009). Retrieved 2011-05-07. He missed the

2010 Asian Games The 2010 Asian Games (), officially known as the XVI Asian Games () and also known as Guangzhou 2010 (), was a regional multi-sport event celebrated from November 12 to November 27, 2010 in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China, although several events ...

References

External links

*
Profile
at JAAF {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanaka, Hiromasa Living people 1981 births Sportspeople from Yamaguchi Prefecture Japanese athletics coaches Japanese decathletes Japanese male athletes Asian Games competitors for Japan Athletes (track and field) at the 2006 Asian Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Japan Asian Athletics Championships winners Japan Championships in Athletics winners