is a retired

judoka is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

who won a gold medal at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. He is the younger brother of

1993 World Judo Championships The 1993 World Judo Championships were the 18th edition of the World Judo Championships, and were held in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Canada from September 30 to October 3, 1993. Medal overview Men Women Medal table References

{{R ...

gold medalist Yoshio Nakamura and 1996 Olympic silver medalist Yukimasa Nakamura.

Biography

Nakamura was born in

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

Fukuoka Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Fukuoka Prefecture has a population of 5,109,323 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,986 Square kilometre, km2 (1,925 sq mi). Fukuoka Prefecture borders S ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. He entered

Tokai University is a private non-sectarian higher education institution located in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded by Dr. Shigeyoshi Matsumae. It was accredited under Japan's old educational system in 1946 and under the new system in 1950. In 2008, Tokai Un ...

in 1992, and was successful in several judo competitions, winning a gold medal at the

1995 Summer Universiade The 1995 Summer Universiade, also known as the XVIII Summer Universiade, took place in Fukuoka, Japan. Emblem The symbol mark is a motif of "U", expressing passion and energy in the flickering flames of a burning torch. In the flames one sees bot ...

in his hometown of Fukuoka, and a gold medal at the 1995 Asian Judo Championships in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. He entered

Asahi Kasei is a multinational Japanese chemical company. Its main products are chemicals and materials science. It was founded in May 1931, using the paid in capital of Nobeoka Ammonia Fiber Co., Ltd, a Nobeoka, Miyazaki based producer of ammonia, nitri ...

after graduating, and won the

All-Japan Judo Championships is a judo tournament held every year in Japan. The men's tournament is held in Nippon Budokan on 29 April and the women's tournament (dubbed "Empress cup All-Japan women's Judo championships") is held in Yokohama Cultural Gymnasium in April. T ...

in 1996 to gain a spot on the Japanese Olympic judo team for the

, where he won a close decision victory over

Kwak Dae-Sung Kwak Dae-Sung is a retired South Korean judoka who is a two-time Asian champion (1996 and 1997). He won a silver medal in the lightweight division at the 1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of ...

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 ...

to receive a gold medal.Kenzo Nakamura
, abc.net.au, retrieved 2010-10-09 Both Nakamura and Kwak were unaggressive throughout the match, and Kwak gained a lead in points after a warning was issued to Nakamura for inactivity. However, Kwak was penalized in turn for an illegal move with only three seconds remaining in the match, and Nakamura won the gold medal with a 2-1 decision in his favor. Nakamura won several more tournaments after his first trip to the Olympics, most notably a gold medal at the 1997 World Judo Championships and three consecutive victories in the -73 kg division of the All-Japan Championships from 1998-2000. However, he failed to get past the third round at the

1999 World Judo Championships The 1999 World Judo Championships were the 21st edition of the World Judo Championships, and were held in Birmingham, Great Britain in 1999. Medal overview Men Women Medal table Results overview Men 60 kg 66 kg 73 kg 81 kg 90 ...

, and lost in the fourth round of the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

and in the third round of the

repechage Repechage (; french: repêchage, "fishing out, rescuing") is a practice in series competitions that allows participants who failed to meet qualifying standards by a small margin to continue to the next round. A well known example is the wild car ...

. He won the Kodokan Cup in the -81 kg division the same year, but lost in the semi-finals and bronze medal match of the

2001 World Judo Championships The 2001 World Judo Championships were the 22nd edition of the World Judo Championships, and were held at Olympiahalle in Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of B ...

to end up in 5th place. Nakamura retired in 2003 after winning the All-Japan Championships for the 5th time in 2002, and winning the Kano Jigoro Cup in 2003. He began working as an instructor for the Asahi Kasei judo team in 2004, and has served as a coach for the All-Japan junior and senior teams.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nakamura, Kenzo Living people 1973 births Tokai University alumni Olympic judoka of Japan Judoka at the 1996 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2000 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Japan Sportspeople from Fukuoka (city) Olympic medalists in judo Asian Games medalists in judo Judoka at the 1998 Asian Games Japanese male judoka Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Asian Games silver medalists for Japan Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games Universiade medalists in judo Universiade gold medalists for Japan 20th-century Japanese people 21st-century Japanese people