is a Japanese athlete who competes in

archery Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...

, who is a former world number one. He won a bronze medal in archery at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

. Yamamoto competed at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

in men's individual archery. He won his first three elimination matches, advancing to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinals, Yamamoto faced

Im Dong-hyun Im Dong-hyun (; ; born 12 May 1986) is a South Korean archer. He competes for the South Korean national team and is a former world number one. He has 20/200 vision in his left eye and 20/100 vision in his right eye, meaning he needs to be 1 ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, defeating the 1st-ranked archer 111–110 in the 12-arrow match and advancing to the semifinals. There, he faced

Tim Cuddihy Timothy John Cuddihy (born 21 May 1987) is an archer from Toowoomba, Australia, who competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in men's individual matchplay archery. He won his first three elimination matches, advancing to the quarterfinals. In the ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, defeating the eventual

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 ...

ist in a 10–9 tie-breaker after the first 12 arrows resulted in a 115–115 tie. Yamamoto then competed against

Marco Galiazzo Marco Galiazzo (born 7 May 1983, in Padova) is an athlete from Italy. He competes in archery for C.S. Aeronautica Militare, and is a former world number one. He was the first Olympic champion in the Italian archery history, w ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in the gold medal match, losing 111–109 to finish with the

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

. Since 2004 Yamamoto has been a frequent guest on television programs in Japan and has become a well recognized public figure. Yamamoto was also a member of the 8th-place Japanese men's archery team at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

References

1962 births Living people Japanese male archers Olympic archers for Japan Olympic bronze medalists for Japan Olympic silver medalists for Japan Archers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Archers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Archers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Archers at the 1996 Summer Olympics Archers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Yokohama Nippon Sport Science University alumni Olympic medalists in archery Asian Games medalists in archery Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Archers at the 1982 Asian Games Archers at the 1986 Asian Games Archers at the 1990 Asian Games Archers at the 1994 Asian Games Archers at the 1998 Asian Games Archers at the 2002 Asian Games Asian Games gold medalists for Japan Asian Games silver medalists for Japan Asian Games bronze medalists for Japan Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1982 Asian Games Medalists at the 1986 Asian Games Medalists at the 1990 Asian Games Medalists at the 1994 Asian Games Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games 20th-century Japanese people {{Japan-Olympic-medalist-stub