Takashi Shimokawara (July 25, 1906 – March 11, 2011) was a Japanese

centenarian A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are below 100 years, the term is invariably associated with longevity. In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living cente ...

from

Kamaishi, Iwate is a city located on the Sanriku rias coast in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 32,609, and a population density of 74 persons per km2, in 16,230 households. The total area of the city is Geography Kamaishi is ...

. He is the current M100

world record holder In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

in the

shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

, discus and

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...

. He also holds the M95 Japanese national record in the javelin, set at the age of 100. He was killed during the

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes ...

at age 104. Mr. Shimokawara would have a daily exercise routine that included a jog, press ups, squat thrusts and horizontal leg raises. He took up

Masters athletics Masters athletics is a class of the sport of athletics for athletes of over 35 years of age. The events include track and field, road running and cross country running. Competitors are bracketed into five-year age groups (which promotes fair comp ...

in 2004, at the age of 98.

References

1906 births 2011 deaths Deaths in earthquakes Japanese centenarians Japanese male discus throwers Japanese male javelin throwers Japanese male shot putters Japanese masters athletes Natural disaster deaths in Japan Victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami World record holders in masters athletics Men centenarians 20th-century Japanese people 21st-century Japanese people {{Japan-athletics-bio-stub