Sawao kato biography channel

Between and he won twelve Olympic medals, including eight gold medals, making him the most successful Japanese Olympian by number of gold medals won.

Kato was part of a golden generation of Japanese gymnasts who had propelled the nation to the top of the sport.

He first competed in the Olympics in , alongside his elder brother Takeshi. They won the team competition, with Sawao also taking gold medals in the all-around and on the floor. He placed third in the rings event. Four years later the Japanese men's gymnastics team dominated the Olympics, taking 15 out of 21 individual medals.

Born in the prefecture of Niigata, the son of a railway engineer, Sawao Kato shone academically as a child, and appeared to show little aptitude or interest in.

He aimed for an unprecedented third gold medal in the all-around at the Summer Olympics , but was defeated by Nikolai Andrianov. The team competition was close this time, but the Japanese defeated the Soviets by four tenths of a point, earning their fifth consecutive title. He is one of the most successful male gymnasts ever at the Olympics: his eight gold and twelve overall medals are best rivaled by Nikolai Andrianov 's seven gold and 15 overall, Boris Shakhlin 's seven gold and 13 overall, and Takashi Ono 's five gold and 13 overall.

He won more Olympic gold medals than any Japanese Olympian, and is second after Ono in the total number of medals. Contents move to sidebar hide. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item. Japanese gymnast born