By William May
（Japan Amateur Wrestling Federation, Public
Information Committee
：wmay52@hotmail.com）
JAPANESE SINGLET IN BEIJING TO FEATURE ASCENDING DRAGON
TOKYO (July 9) – Japanese wrestlers at the Beijing Olympics will wear singlets
featuring a golden dragon on the ascendant and the outline of a Japanese
katana, representing the spirit of the Japanese warrior. The singlets,
designed by Asics, were revealed at the national training center on July
9.
In addition to the symbolism of the design, Asics also reportedly studied
the movement of wrestlers and created a comfortable singlet that allows
considerable freedom of movement.
Greco-roman wrestlers Makoto Sasamoto and Shingo Matsumoto, as well as Japan’s four female entries in Beijing, modeled the uniforms for the press and the fit and the ease of motion in the new singlets.
HALL OF FAMER URANO SPEAKS TO FEMALE TRAINING CAMP
TOKYO (July 9) – International wrestling hall of fame member Yayoi Urano-Odagaki offered her words of encouragement to the wrestlers at a pre-Olympic training camp at the national training center in Tokyo.
Urano, who won six world championship titles between 1990 and 1996, was
visiting Japan from her home in Canada and stopped by the opening day of
the women’s training camp to see her former coach Kazuhito Sakae and former
teammate, and now a coach, Shoko Yoshimura. Urano was pleasantly surprised
at the six-mat wrestling room at the training center, recalling how she
wondered every day in the early days of female wrestling where she might
train that day.
She cautioned the current team members “I hope you will never lose that ‘hungry’ spirit (to keep striving to be better).”
WINNERS AT THE SHAKAIJIN NAT’L C’SHIPS
ASAKA, Saitama (July 12-13) – Winners at the shakaijin national championships at Asaka municipal gymnasium:
Men’s freestyle
55 – Hidekazu Tomita, Japan Self Defense Forces
60 – Masashi Saito, Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department
66 – Masanori Sakamoto, Japan SDF
74 – Koji Obara, Japan SDF
84 –Takuya Ito, Maruman club
96 – Kenzo Sakamoto, Japan SDF
120 – Norihiro Sakurai, Honma-gumi club
Women’s freestyle
48 – Makiko Sakamoto, Japan SDF
51 – Yuri Kai, Aishin club
55 – Chikako Matsukawa, Japan Beverage
59 – Takako Saito, Japan SDF
63 – Saki Kanazawa, Sakai women’s club
67 – Mami Shinkai, Aishin
72 – Asuka Sano, Japan SDF
Greco-roman
55 – Kiyoharu Hirao, Niigata
60 – Kosuke Hori, Japan SDF
66 – Hiroyuki Shimizu, Japan SDF
74 – Kosuke Sumi, Japan SDF
84 – Mitsuhiro Ota, Oita
96 – Yoshihiro Osada, Japan SDF
120 – Masao Nakamoto, Hiroshima
TOKYO (July 9) – Japanese wrestlers at the Beijing Olympics will wear singlets
featuring a golden dragon on the ascendant and the outline of a Japanese
katana, representing the spirit of the Japanese warrior. The singlets,
designed by Asics, were revealed at the national training center on July
9. 