To Our Friends in Wrestling Around the world
By William May
(Japan Amateur Wrestling Federation, Public
Information Committee
Kyodo World Services, senior sports writer:wmay52@hotmail.com)
GRECO-ROMAN NATIONAL TEAM PROFILES
TOKYO (September 10) -
Profiles of members of the Japanese national
team for the greco-roman wrestling world
championships in Moscow, September 20-22.
55 kg - MURATA, Tomoya (Hino Wrestling Club,
Shiga)
Born: 1977 June
5, Mie Prefecture. Age: 24. Ht: 161 cm.
Education: Matsuzaka high school (Mie) --
Nippon Sport Science University.
Won the national sports
festival title in high school. Took
both greco-roman collegiate titles at 48
kg as a NSSU freshman in 1996, but struggled
with introduction of the new weight categories
in 1997.
Murata became collegiate champion
at 54 kg in 1999 and won his first senior
national championship in 2000.
World championships -
2001, 9th (54 kg)
World university championships
- 2000, 4th (54 kg)
Jr. world championships
- 1997, 17th (52 kg)
60 kg - SASAMOTO, Makoto (employee, Sogo
Security)
Born: 1977 October 22,
Kanagawa Prefecture. Age: 24.
Ht: 163 cm. Education: Kojo high school
(Kanagawa) - NSSU.
Sasamoto did not win any
titles in high school, but developed at NSSU,
taking second place in the senior national
championships in 1998 and 1999. Sasamoto
helped Japan earned a berth at 58 kg in the
2000 Olympic Games in Sydney during the second
stage of qualifying. He then won the
playoff with veteran Kenkichi Nishimi for
the right to represent Japan in Sydney, earning
8th place.
Since then, Sasamoto has won the
world university championship, inished second
in the East Asian Games and 7th in the 2001
world championships. He has also won
the last two senior national championship
crowns at 58 kg.
Olympic Games - 2000,
8th (58)
World championships -
2001, 7th (58)
World university championships
- 2000, 1st (58)
Jr. world championships
- 1997, 11th (56)
66 kg - IMURO, Masaki (Japan Self Defense
Forces)
Born: 1978 February 28,
Shiga Prefecture. Age: 24. Ht:
173 cm. Education: Hino high school
(Shiga) - Takushoku University.
Won the junior national
championship title as a high school student. As
a first-year student at Takushoku in 1996,
Imuro gave notice of his potential by finishing
second in the greco-roman collegiate national
championships and in 1998 won both greco-roman
titles in the collegiate open and the collegiate
national championships. Imuro finished
6th at 69 kg at
the 2000 world university championships and
then won his first senior national championship
crown.
He made his first appearance for
Japan in the world championships in 2001
and won his second senior national title.
World championships -
2001, 32nd (63)
World university championships
- 2000, 6th (69)
74 kg - NAGATA, Katsuhiko (employee, New
Japan Pro Wrestling)
Born: 1973 October 31,
Chiba Prefecture. Age: 28. Ht:
170 cm. Education: Seito high school
(Chiba) - NSSU.
Nagata never qualified
for the high school national championships
in high school but developed into the national
collegiate champion at NSSU. He has
been a member of the Japanese national team
since 1997 and in 2000 won the Asian championship
title and earned a silver medal at 69 kg
at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
Nagata has won five straight national championship
titles.
Olympic Games - 2000,
SILVER MEDAL (69)
World championships -
1997, 16th (69); 1998, 23rd (69); 1999, 30th
(69), 2001, 13th (69)
Asian Games - 1998, 7th
(69)
Asian Championships -
2000, 1st (69)
84 kg - MATSUMOTO, Shingo (employee, Ichinomiyu
Transport)
Born: 1978 March 2, Ehime
Prefecture. Age: 24. Ht: 174
cm. Education: Tsushima high school
(Ehime) - NSSU.
Won the national sports
festival title despite coming from prefecture
little known for its wrestling. Matsumoto
finished second in the senior nationals in
1997. He won both greco-roman titles
in the collegiate open and collegiate national
championships in 1998 and 1999 and pulled
down his first senior national title December
1999. Matsumoto won the East Asian
Games in 2001 and was the runner-up in the
Asian championships. Matsumoto has also won
the last three senior national championship
crowns.
World championships -
2001, 13th (85)
World university championships
- 2001, 4th (85)
96 kg - MORIKAKU, Yusuke (employee, New Japan
Pro Wrestling)
Born: 1979 November 13,
Nagano Prefecture. Age: 21. Ht:
183 cm. Education: Kita Saku Nogyo
high school (Nagano) - NSSU.
Morikaku did not with
a national title in high school, but captured
the junior national championship in 1999
as a second-year student at NSSU.
Morikaku won the collegiate national
championship title in 2000 at 85 kg and then
moved up a weight to win the senior national
championship.
World championships -
2001, 26th (97)
Asian championships -
2001, 5th (97)
World university championships
- 2000, 7th (97)
Jr. world championships
- 1999, 14th (85)
Jr. Asian championships
- 1998, 4th (83); 1999, 3rd (85)
120 kg - No entry.