was a Japanese athlete and the first Japanese Olympic gold medalist. He was the first

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Olympic champion This article includes lists of all Olympic medalists since 1896, organized by each Olympic sport or discipline, and also by Olympiad. Medalist with most medals by sport Summer Olympic sports Winter Olympic sports A. Including military patrol e ...

in an individual event.Mikio Oda
sports-reference.com

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

. Retrieved on 26 April 2010.

Biography

Oda was born in Kaita,

Hiroshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 8,479 km² (3,274 sq mi). Hiroshima Prefecture borders Okayama Prefecture to the ...

. At the age of 17, he set a new Japanese record for the

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to the long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down th ...

at the

1923 Far Eastern Championship Games The 1923 Far Eastern Championship Games was the sixth edition of the regional multi-sport event, contested between China, Japan and the Philippines, and was held from 21–25 May in Osaka, Empire of Japan. It was the first and only time that Osaka ...

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 ...

, and also won the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a ...

and

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

events. He was selected as a member of the Japanese Olympic team for the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The o ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, participating in all three events. However, he failed to reach the semifinals in the

and

, and placed sixth in the triple jump competition. On his return to Japan, he enrolled at

Waseda University , mottoeng = Independence of scholarship , established = 21 October 1882 , type = Private , endowment = , president = Aiji Tanaka , city = Shinjuku , state = Tokyo , country = Japan , students = 47,959 , undergrad = 39,382 , postgrad ...

, but returned to compete in the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics ( nl, Olympische Zomerspelen 1928), officially known as the Games of the IX Olympiad ( nl, Spelen van de IXe Olympiade) and commonly known as Amsterdam 1928, was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated fro ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

. Although he again did not reach the semifinals in the

and

, he won the triple jump event with a result of 15.21 meters, becoming the first Japanese athlete to win an Olympic gold medal. In 1931, Oda graduated from Waseda University and was employed by the

Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition a ...

newspaper. On 27 October of the same year, he established a new

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...

for the triple jump of 15.58 meters. Oda served as coach and captain of the Japanese athletics team at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. Upon retirement from competitive athletics, he focused his efforts on sports administration, becoming a member of the

Japanese Olympic Committee The is the National Olympic Committee in Japan for the Olympic Games movement, based in Tokyo, Japan. It is a non-profit organisation that selects teams and raises funds to send Japanese competitors to Olympic events organised by the Internati ...

in 1948 and later taking part in the

's technical committee. He also served as coach for the Japanese athletics team at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

and the

1954 Asian Games The 1954 Asian Games ( fil, Palarong Asyano 1954), officially known as the Second Asian Games – Manila 1954 was a multi-sport event held in Manila, Philippines, from May 1 to 9, 1954. A total of 970 athletes from 19 Asian National Olympic Commi ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populated ...

. During the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this h ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

, the Olympic flag was raised to a height of exactly 15.21 meters, to pay respect to Oda's achievement 36 years earlier. Oda field, a 400-meter running track in Yoyogi built for the 1964 Olympics, was named after Oda.Shibuya City Hal
Shibuya City Office / Public Facilities
Retrieved on 21 October 2013 His sporting achievements were recognized with the creation of the Mikio Oda Memorial International Amateur Athletic Game, an annual

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

competition that has been held since 1967. He became a professor at Waseda University from 1965. In 1976, Oda was awarded the Olympic Order, the highest award of the Olympic Movement. In 1988, Oda was honored by the government as a

Person of Cultural Merit is an official Japanese recognition and honor which is awarded annually to select people who have made outstanding cultural contributions. This distinction is intended to play a role as a part of a system of support measures for the promotion of ...

, and in 1989, he was named honorary chairman of the

Japan Association of Athletics Federations The is the national governing body for the sport of athletics in Japan. Presidents *Ryōzō Hiranuma (1929–1958) *Hiroshi Kasuga (1958–1964) *Ichirō Kōno (1965) *Kenzō Kōno (1965–1975) * Hanji Aoki (1975–1999) *Yōhei Kōno (1999–2 ...

. In the final years of his life, Oda moved from his home at

Aburatsubo is an inlet on the west side of the Miura Peninsula in Kanagawa, Japan, facing Sagami Bay on the Pacific Ocean. It exits into neighbouring Moroiso inlet. History During historic times, the Aburatsubo inlet was selected by the feudal Miura f ...

Yokosuka, Kanagawa is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 409,478, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city ...

to a nursing home in Kugenuma (Fujisawa, Kanagawa). His grave is at the Buddhist temple of Tokei-ji in

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...

. In 2000, Oda was posthumously chosen as the best Asian male athlete of the century by a panel of track and field experts.

References

External links

Mikio Oda at olympic.orgExtensive interview with Oda
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oda, Mikio 1905 births 1998 deaths Sportspeople from Hiroshima Prefecture Japanese male high jumpers Japanese male long jumpers Japanese male triple jumpers Japanese decathletes Olympic male high jumpers Olympic male long jumpers Olympic male triple jumpers Olympic athletes of Japan Olympic gold medalists for Japan Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1924 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Japan Championships in Athletics winners World record setters in athletics (track and field) Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon Recipients of the Olympic Order Waseda University alumni The Asahi Shimbun people Waseda University faculty 20th-century Japanese people

Biography

See also

References

External links