Akira Sato (ski jumper)
Akira Satō (Japanese佐藤 晃, Akira Satō, born July 19, 1964 in Kyogoku, Hokkaido ) is a former Japanese ski jumper.
Career
Satō began his international career with the start at the Nordic World Ski Championships 1985 in Seefeld in Tirol. From the normal hill he reached there on the 16th, on the large hill on the 17th and in the team competition the 6th Place. On December 30, 1985 he gave his debut in Oberstdorf in Ski Jumping World Cup. By 1987, however, he jumped in the World Cup only on rear seats. Surprisingly, he won his first and only World Cup show jumping competition in Sapporo on January 24, 1987. It was also his first jump where he won the World Cup points. At the end of the 1986/87 season he finished in 25th place in the overall World Cup standings. In the Nordic World Ski Championships 1987 in Oberstdorf Satō jumped on the normal hill on the 24th Place. Satō belonged to the Japanese squad for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, where he was on the 11th and on the large hill jump on the normal hill on the 33rd. In the team competition, he jumped along with Masaru Nagaoka, Katsushi Tao and Shin'ichi Tanaka on the 11th and last place. After the games, he could not go on from his success in previous years. From 1990, he started only in competition in Sapporo, before leaving for another three years moved to the newly created ski jumping Continental Cup in 1992. There, however, he could not achieve more successes in 1995 and ended his active ski jumping career.