Atsuji Miyahara

Atsuji Miyahara, Japanese宫 原 厚 次, Miyahara Atsuji, ( born December 20 1958) is a former Japanese wrestler. He was Olympic champion in 1984 in the Greco-Roman flyweight.

Career

Atsuji Miyahara began at the age of 19 years in 1977 with the rings. He was a member of the Self-Defense Forces and was a member of the Sports Club Saitama. His coach was Koichiro Hirayama. He struggled only in the Greco-Roman style and with a size of 1.55 meters always flyweight weight class at the time was the weight limit at 52 kg, for which he had to work off before each race about 5 kg.

His debut on the international wrestling mat he gave in 1981, when he finished 4th in the Universities World Cup in Budapest flyweight behind the world-class athletes benur Paschajan, USSR, Nicu Ganga, Romania and Bang Dae -du, South Korea. A few months later, he became vice - world champion in the flyweight at the 1981 World Championship in Oslo. After four victories, he lost there in the final against Vakhtang Blagidse from the USSR.

Less successful was Atsuji Miyahara. At the World Championships of 1982 and 1983 in Katowice and Kiev, as he finished there flyweight only the 6th Place and remained without winning a medal

But in 1984 he used at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles advantage of the situation that had been created by the absence of many strong wrestlers from the Eastern bloc countries. He defeated flyweight Cişmaş Mihai from Romania, Jean -Pierre Chapeau Rouge from France, Jon Rønningen from Norway, Bang Dae -du from South Korea and the surprisingly been initiated in the finals Daniel Aceves from Mexico, he and 9:3 techn. Points certainly dominated and won the Olympic gold medal.

In 1985 Atsuji Miyahara lost at the World Championships in Kolbotn in the finale of his pools against Jon Rønningen and lost then also, somewhat demotivated, the battle for the World Cup bronze medal against Mihai Cişmaş. Also in 1986 he lost at the World Championships in Budapest, the pool finale against Jon Rønningen, but this time was victorious in the battle for the World Cup bronze medal against Valentin Krumow from Bulgaria.

Worst experience was for him then the 1987 World Championships in Clermont- Ferrand, because he left there after two defeats already after the second round and wound up a 13th place. But were the 1988 Olympics in Seoul again to a climax in his career. He defeated there in the pool finale the strong Soviet champion Alexander Ignatenko after a hard fight with 4:3 techn. Points and was in the battle for the gold medal again Jon Rønningen over against which it relatively clear with 7:12 techn. Points lost. He won the gold medal so that after 1984 an Olympic silver medal.

Then he stepped back and worked as a civilian employee remains with the Japanese forces.

International success

Note: all contests in Greco -Roman style, OS = Olympic Games, WM = World Championships, Flyweight, then to 52 kg body weight

Swell

• Database of the Institute for Applied Training Science at the University of Leipzig
• Journal The Ringer