Akifumi Sakamoto
Personal information
Full nameAkifumi Sakamoto
Born (1982-02-25) 25 February 1982
Sakai, Osaka, Japan
Height1.66 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight68 kg (150 lb)
Team information
DisciplineBicycle motocross (BMX)
RoleRider
Medal record
Men's BMX
Representing  Japan
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place2010 Guangzhou Men's BMX

Akifumi Sakamoto (阪本 章史, Sakamoto Akifumi, born February 25, 1982) is a Japanese BMX cyclist.[1] He represented his nation Japan at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and later claimed the silver medal in the inaugural men's BMX cycling at the 2010 Asian Games.

Sakamoto qualified for the Japanese squad, as the sole Asian rider, in men's BMX cycling at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing by receiving an invitational berth from the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) based on his best performance at the UCI World Championships in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. After he grabbed a thirty-second seed on the morning prelims with a slowest time of 40.548, Sakamoto scored a total of 19 placing points to mount a seventh spot in his quarterfinal heat, thus eliminating him from the tournament.[2][3][4]

At the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, Sakamoto held off his teammate Masahiro Sampei to take home the men's BMX silver medal in 31.379, trailing closely behind Hong Kong's Steven Wong by more than a full second.[5][6]

References

  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Akifumi Sakamoto". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  2. "Men's BMX Seeding". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 2012-08-19. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  3. "Men's BMX Quarterfinals Heat 1". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 2012-08-19. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  4. "Big names advance in BMX, but not without crashes". The Star (Malaysia). 20 August 2008. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  5. Lee, Jean (20 November 2010). "BMX star Wong makes off with Asiad gold". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 24 November 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  6. "Hong Kong, China take BMX gold". Special Broadcasting Service. 20 November 2010. Archived from the original on 20 October 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013.


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