Men’s Freestyle
55 kg - MATSUNAGA, Tomohiro (NSSU research student)
Born: 1980 June 27, Shizuoka Prefecture. Height: 163 cm. Education: Numazu Gakuen high school (Shizuoka), Nippon Sports Science University. Started wrestling in a kids program in Yaezu and won five straight national schoolboy titles. In 1995, became the first wrestler to win three straight national junior high school championships. In 1998, won all four major high school championships as well as the JOC Cup junior national title. In 2001, finished third in the national senior invitational, won both the collegiate open and collegiate national championship crowns along with the national sports festival. In 2002, won the university world championship title and finished second in the senior national championships behind Chikara Tanabe.
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60 kg - MATSUO, Daishi (NSSU research student)
Born: 1980 April 30, Kumamoto Prefecture. Height: 165 cm. Education: Tamana Kogyo high school (Kumamoto), NSSU. Won at the 1998 high school national championships. In 2001, won the collegiate open and collegiate national championships titles. The next year repeated as champion at the collegiate open and finished third at the senior national championships. Finished sixth at the 2002 student world championships and won the Canada Cup crown.
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66 kg - IKEMATSU, Kazuhiko (NSSU instructor)
Born: 1979 December 26, Fukuoka Prefecture. Height: 171 cm. Education: Mii high school (Fukuoka Prefecture), NSSU. Largely unheralded in high school, came to NSSU with only a second-place finish in the high school division of the national sports festival. As a second-year student at NSSU in 1999, won the East Japan freshman-sophomore meet and finished second in the collegiate open. Won the collegiate open in 2000 and finished third in the senior nationals. Won the national team trials the following year (2001) and competed in the world championships (23rd). Second in the national championships in 2001, but earned a national team spot in 2002 to compete in the world championships (15th) and Asian Games. Third in the 2002 senior nationals.
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74 kg - NAGASHIMA, Kazuyuki (Waseda Univ., 4th year)
Born: 1981 September 25, Gunma Prefecture. Education: Tatebayashi high school (Gunma). Won three major high school titles in 1999. In 2000 was the junior national champion and finished second in the 2000 Asian junior championships. Also wrestled in the junior world championships. Won the collegiate open in 2001. Repeated at the open in 2002 and added the national collegiate championships crown. Finished second at national sports festival and senior nationals. Twin brother Masahiko was also a two-time collegiate open champion at 69 and 66 kg and a bronze medalist at the 2002 world university championships.
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84 kg - ISOKAWA, Takao (Takushoku Univ., 1st year)
Born: 1984 June 10, Kumamooto Prefecture. Height: 176 cm. Education: Nihon Bunri University high school (Oita). A well-known wrestler as a schoolboy competitor, but only finished third in the junior high school nationals. Regained form in high school and won the high school nationals in 2001 and racked up four major high school titles in 2002. Finished fourth in the Asian junior championships and took a third place in the senior nationals last December. Quickly made the starting line-up for Takushoku University in this spring’s East Japan League Championships.
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96 kg - MORIYAMA, Masahide (NSSU, 3rd year)
Born: 1982 June 28, Ehime Prefecture. Height: 182 cm. Education: Hokujo high school (Ehime). Finished third in the junior high school nationals and in 2000 won in the high school division of the national sports festival. Finished fifth in the 2002 national collegiate championships and third in the senior nationals.
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120 kg - SUWAMA, Kohei (Clean-up)
Born: 1976 November 23, Kanagawa Prefecture. Height: 185 cm. Education: Fujimine Gakuen Fujisawa high school (Kanagawa), Chuo University. Did not win any major titles in high school. Finished third at the 1998 national collegiate championships and was fourth in the senior nationals. Began to challenge the leading heavyweights in Japan after graduating from Chuo. Won the 2002 nationals for company employees and the national sports festival, but had to settle for second in the national championships last December.
Men’s Greco-Roman
55 kg - FUJITA, Yasuto (Hyogo Wrestling Association)
Born: 1979 July 17, Hyogo Prefecture. Education: Kobe Nishi high school (Hyogo), NSSU. Took a third in the high school national invitational and finished second in the high school division of the national sports festival. In 1999, finished third in the collegiate greco-roman open and was second in the 2001 collegiate greco-roman national championships. Finished his college career without a major title and was fourth in last December’s senior nationals.
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60 kg - ITO, Hikaru (Okayama Wrestling Association)
Born: 1979 September 4, Okayama Prefecture. Height: 164 cm. Education: Kurashiki high school (Okayama), NSSU. As a high school wrestler, only advanced as far as the quarterfinals of the national tournament. At NSSU, Ito blossomed slowly and did not finish on the podium until taking third in the 2000 collegiate open. Won the company employees’ open in 2002 and finished fourth at the senior nationals.
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66 kg - IZENA, Masaaki (NSSU graduate)
Born: 1979 February 1, Okinawa Prefecture. Height: 169 cm. Education: Chatan Norin high school (Okinawa), NSSU. Finished third in the high school nationals, but as a sophomore at NSSU, took second in the national invitational tourney (national team trials) and third in the collegiate open. In 2000, won both the collegiate open and national collegiate championships. In 2002, took second in national sports festival and won the company employees championship.
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74 kg - TSURUMAKI, Tsukasa (Kokushikan Univ., 1st year)
Born: 1984 May 19, Yamagata Prefecture. Height: 182 cm. Education: Yonezawa Kogyo high school (Yamagata). Took third place as a first-year high school student at the JOC Cup cadet national championships. Was third in the 2002 high school national championships. Won the high school greco-roman championships and the high school division of the national sports festival. Finished fourth at the senior nationals.
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84 kg - OTA, Mitsuhiro (Nihon Bunri Univ., employee)
Born: 1979 June 5, Mie Prefecture. Height: 174 cm. Education: Inben high school (Mie), NSSU. Won the high school division of the national sports festival and was third at the collegiate open in 2000, but was otherwise without a title at NSSU.
Finished third in the senior nationals in 2001 and was third again in 2002 in the national invitational and the senior nationals.
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96 kg - MORIKAKU, Yusuke (New Japan Pro Wrestling, employee)
Born: 1979 November 13, Nagano Prefecture. Height: 183 cm. Education: Kita Saku Nogyou high school (Nagano), NSSU. Won his first major title as a sophomore at NSSU in 1999 when he took the junior national championship crown. Won the collegiate national title in 2000 at 85 kg and then went up a weight to win the senior nationals. Has represented Japan since in the East Asian Games, Asian championships, world championships and Asian Games.
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120 kg - SHINJO, Hirokazu (Kokushikan Univ., 3rd year)
Born: 1982 October 11, Osaka. Height: 181 cm. Education: Minami Kyoto high school. Took second in the national high school greco-roman championships and won the high school division of the national sports festival as a third-year student. In 2002, won the junior national championship crown and finished fourth in the collegiate greco-roman nationals.
WOMEN
48 kg - NOGUCHI, Mika (Kanoya Wrestling Club)
Born: 1982 October 9, Kagoshima Prefecture. Education: Kanoya Chuo high chool (Kagoshima). Won seven straight titles in the national schoolboys/schoolgirls meet. In 1999, won the world cadet championship at 46 kg and finished third in the 2001 Japan Queen's Cup meet. Finished second in the 2001 senior nationals and won the Japan Queens Cup in 2002 for a berth on the national team for the world championships. Defeated eventual champion Brigitte Wagner of Germany in her opening bout, but was unable to advance out of her preliminary group.
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51 kg - HATTORI, Ninako (Chukyo Women’s Univ., 3rd year)
Born: 1982 June 25, Kanagawa Prefecture. Height: 153 cm. Education: CWU high school (Aichi). Started wrestling with the Tokai Juniors in Kanagawa and in 1999 won the JOC Cup cadet title. Won the Asian junior title in 2000. Represented Japan in the 2001 junior world championships (7th) and won the senior nationals the same year. Also competed in the 2002 World Cup (4th).
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55 kg - SHIBATA, Mizuho (CWU high school, 2nd year)
Born: 1986 September 17, Akita Prefecture. Height: 157 cm. Began wrestling at the Sugita Dojo in Akita and took fourth in the junior high school nationals in 1999. In 2001, improved to third place. After entering the high school affiliate of Chukyo Women’s University, took second in the cadet division of the Japan Queens Cup meet in 2002. She also won the cadet title at the JOC Cup meet and finished fifth at 51 kg at the senior nationals.
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59 kg - IWAMA, Rena (Replay)
Born: 1979 August 2, Iwate Prefecture. Ht: 157 cm. Education: Miyako Shogyo high school (Iwate), Chukyo Women’s University. Started wrestling in high school and won the high school national championship in 1997 at 61 kg. Won the junior national title at 58 kg in 1999 then went on to win the junior world and senior national championship title at 62 kg in the same year. Finished second in the world championships in 2000 but fell to 14th in 2001. In 2002, was the World Cup champion and finished seventh in the world championships.
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63 kg - SHODA, Ayako (Toyo Univ., 4th year)
Born: 1981 November 3, Osaka. Height: 163 cm. Education: Amino high school (Kyoto). Won the junior national title at 58 kg in 1998 and, at 16, won the senior nationals at 62 kg.Won the world championship title in 1999 in her debut on the Japanese world team. In 2000, added titles from the Asian championships and the junior worlds. Repeated as Asia champion in 2001, but has been hampered with injuries
since.
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67 kg - SAITO, Norie (Japan Beverage)
Born: 1978 October 24, Ibaraki Prefecture. Education: Tsuchiura Nichidai high school (Ibaraki), Teikyo University. Practiced judo in high school, but also entered wrestling competitions, winning the national championship title at 70 kg in 1995. Saito devoted herself to judo as a student at Teikyo, but switched her attention to wrestling after graduating. Represented Japan in the 2001 world championships (12th) and again in 2002 (7th).
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72 kg - MURASHIMA, Ayako (CWU, 3rd year)
Born: 1982 August 20, Mie Prefecture. Height: 165 cm. Education: Owashi high school (Mie). Played softball in junior high school and basketball in high school. Was first introduced to wrestling as a third-year student in high school and decided to go to CWU and focus on wrestling. Won the junior national title at 75 kg in 2001, but was unable to wrestle in the world championships because of an injury. Finished second in the Japan Queens Cup this spring behind Kyoko
Hamaguchi.
