Akito Watabe

Akito Watabe (Japanese渡 部 暁 斗, Akito Watabe; born 26 May 1988 in Hakuba ) is a Japanese nordic combiners. He lives in Tokorozawa.

Watabe began his international career in 2005 in the B- Nordic Combined World Cup. At the Junior World Championships 2005 in Rovaniemi, he reached the 50th place in the sprint and the team to 8th place. A year later he won the silver medal in the sprint at the Junior World Championship 2006 in Kranj. In Gundersen he came to the seventh place, with the team on the 11th Place. After this good result, he was part of the squad for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. There Watabe reached the 19th place in the sprint competition. On 18 March 2006 he gave his debut in Sapporo in the Nordic Combined World Cup, winning also immediately first World Cup points. In the Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec, he won together with Yusuke Minato, Taihei Katō and Norihito Kobayashi in the team competition gold medal. The following 2009/10 season was his most successful season. So he reached the 18th place in the overall World Cup. At the Olympic Winter Games 2010 in Vancouver Watabe reached in an individual of the large hill in 9th place in the individual normal hill from the the 21th Place. With the team he won the team competition in sixth place. In the 2011/12 season to him the absolute breakthrough in the world's best. He won four races and stood on the podium nine times. In the overall World Cup, he reached the 2nd place.

He is the older brother of the Nordic combiner Yoshito Watabe.

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