Natsumi Tomonaga
Tomonaga at the 2016 Olympics
Personal information
NationalityJapanese
Born (1991-08-22) August 22, 1991[1]
Height169 cm (5 ft 7 in)[2]
Weight53 kg (117 lb)
Sport
Country Japan
SportModern pentathlon
ClubMetropolitan Police Department[3]
Coached byShoji Kurousu (club)
Hiroshi Miyagahara (national)[3]

Natsumi Tomonaga (朝長 なつ美, Tomonaga Natsumi, born August 22, 1991) is a Japanese modern pentathlete.

Early life

Natsumi Tomonaga was born on August 22, 1991, in Sayama City, Saitama Prefecture, Japan.[4]

She studied at Kawagoe Minami High School.[5]

After graduating from high school in 2011, Natsumi decided to follow in her parents' footsteps, who were both police officers, and joined the Metropolitan Police Academy.[6]

Career

Natsumi practiced both swimming and athletics and was a keen athlete, but it was after her breaking the academy's female record for running 1500 meters in 4 minutes and 55 seconds, that Natsumi was scouted for Modern Pentathlon and began training professionally in 2012.[7][8] A mere two years, later, Natsumi won the 54th Modern Pentathlon All Japan Championship.[6] The same year, 2014, she was selected as a member of the Japanese national team.[9][3]

In 2016, with only four years of experience, Natsumi represented Japan at the 2016 Rio Olympics and ranked 13th in women's modern pentathlon, the third highest for a Japanese athlete.[2][8] Shortly after the Olympics, Natsumi's rank was moved up from 13th to 12th due to the disqualification of a top player.[6]

At the 2016 World Cup she placed 6th, and in 2017, she placed 4th, renewing the highest ranking for a Japanese athlete.[8]

Natsumi continues to compete professionally, finishing 5th in the 2018 Asian Games organized in Jakarta-Palembang[10] and second in the 2019 UIPM 2019 Asia/Oceania Championships.[11]

In 2020, Natsumi qualified to represent Japan once again at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.[12] The same year, on December 24, she married one of her colleagues, changing her last name from Tomonaga to Takamiya.[13]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Natsumi Tomonaga.
  1. ↑ "Natsumi Tomonaga". UIPM. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
  2. 1 2 Natsumi Tomonaga Archived October 13, 2016, at the Wayback Machine. rio2016.com
  3. 1 2 3 Natsumi Tomonaga. nbcolympics.com
  4. ↑ "近代五種高宮なつ美、苦悩の日々も夫の一言が支えに - 近代五種 - 東京オリンピック2020 : 日刊スポーツ". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  5. ↑ "東京オリンピック2020速報 : 高宮なつ美（たかみやなつみ、TAKAMIYA Natsumi） : 近代五種". 読売新聞オンライン (in Japanese). February 27, 2020. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  6. 1 2 3 "立川市にゆかりのある髙宮（旧姓・朝長）なつ美選手を応援しよう！ | 立川市". www.city.tachikawa.lg.jp. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  7. ↑ "東京2020オリンピック出場！高宮 なつ美選手 (近代五種) /川越市". www.city.kawagoe.saitama.jp. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 "近代五種 朝長 なつ美 | 東京2020オリンピック | NHK". NHK Sports (in Japanese). Retrieved April 7, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Tokyo Olympics Results and Live Scores | NBC Olympics". results.nbcolympics.com. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Natsumi TOMONAGA". Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM). July 22, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  11. ↑ "2019 Asia/Oceania Championships & Olympic Qualifier: Lee seals golden double for Korea". Union Internationale de Pentathlon Moderne (UIPM). November 12, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  12. ↑ "近代五種代表に岩元と高宮内定 : 東京オリンピック2020速報 : オリンピック・パラリンピック". 読売新聞オンライン (in Japanese). June 19, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  13. ↑ "近代五種高宮なつ美、苦悩の日々も夫の一言が支えに - 近代五種 - 東京オリンピック2020 : 日刊スポーツ". nikkansports.com (in Japanese). Retrieved July 23, 2021.


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