was a Japanese artistic gymnast, Olympic champion and world champion. He was part of the first Japanese team that succeeded to win gold medals in the team event at the Summer Olympics (1960) and World Championships (1962). In 1964 he won the first individual all-around Olympic gold medal for Japan. He was the flag bearer at the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

Early life

Endō was born into a family of

pharmacists A pharmacist, also known as a chemist ( Commonwealth English) or a druggist (North American and, archaically, Commonwealth English), is a healthcare professional who prepares, controls and distributes medicines and provides advice and instru ...

. His mother died from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

when he was a nine-year-old student at Hiroomote Elementary School. He studied at Kubota Junior High School and Akita Technical High School, after which he studied at the Tokyo University of Education (now the

University of Tsukuba is a public research university located in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. It is a top 10 Designated National University, and was ranked Type A by the Japanese government as part of the Top Global University Project. The university has 28 colle ...

), graduating in 1959. He later worked as assistant instructor of physical education at

Nihon University , abbreviated as , is a private university, private research university in Japan. Its predecessor, Nihon Law School (currently the Department of Law), was founded by Yamada Akiyoshi, the Minister of Justice (Japan), Minister of Justice, in 1889. ...

Career

Endō won gold medals with the Japanese team in three Olympics, in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

and

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...

."1960 Summer Olympics – Rome, Italy – Gymnastics"
''databaseOlympics.com'' (Retrieved on April 1, 2008)
''databaseOlympics.com'' (Retrieved on April 1, 2008)
''databaseOlympics.com'' (Retrieved on April 1, 2008) At the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, he also received two individual gold medals, in ''

parallel bars Parallel bars are floor apparatus consisting of two wooden bars slightly over long and positioned at roughly head height. Parallel bars are used in artistic gymnastics and also for physical therapy and home exercise. Gymnasts may optionally we ...

'', and in '' individual all-around''. Endō received six individual medals at the

1962 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 15th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held on July 3–8, 1962 in Prague, the capital of Czechoslovakia, this being the 3rd time that Prague hosted these championships. These were the last championships China competed in until 19 ...

, including a gold medal in ''floor exercise'', and Japan also won the team competition. He received two individual silver medals at the

1966 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 16th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were held in Dortmund, West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation ...

, and Japan won the team competition. Yukio Endo 1966d

Endō was a four-time Japanese ''all-around'' champion. He retired after the 1968 Olympics to become a gymnastics coach and eventually professor at Nihon University. He also coached the national team at the 1972 Olympics, acted as director of the Japanese Olympic Committee and was twice appointed as vice-president of the Japan Gymnastic Association. In 1996, he received the Japanese '' Emperor's Medal'', and in 1999 induced into the

International Gymnastics Hall of Fame The International Gymnastics Hall of Fame, located in Oklahoma City, USA, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring the achievements and contributions of the world's greatest competitors, coaches and authorities in artistic gymnastics. The early IGHO ...

. Endō died of esophageal cancer on March 25, 2009.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Endo, Yukio 1937 births 2009 deaths Deaths from cancer in Japan Deaths from esophageal cancer Gymnasts at the 1960 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1964 Summer Olympics Gymnasts at the 1968 Summer Olympics Hiroomote Elementary School alumni Japanese male artistic gymnasts Olympic gold medalists for Japan Olympic gymnasts of Japan Olympic silver medalists for Japan Olympic medalists in gymnastics Medalists at the 1968 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1964 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1960 Summer Olympics Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon People from Akita (city) 20th-century Japanese people 21st-century Japanese people

Early life

Career

See also

References

External links