Takamitsu Katayama
Personal information
Full nameTakamitsu Katayama
NationalityJapanese
Born (1971-09-29) 29 September 1971
Akita, Japan
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight76 kg (168 lb)
Sport
SportWrestling
StyleGreco-Roman
ClubSports Club of Self-Defense Forces
CoachYasutoshi Moriyama
Medal record
Men's Greco-Roman wrestling
Representing  Japan
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place1998 Bangkok76 kg
Bronze medal – third place1994 Hiroshima74 kg
Asian Championships
Gold medal – first place1997 Tehran76 kg
Silver medal – second place1996 Xiaoshan74 kg
Silver medal – second place2000 Seoul76 kg
Bronze medal – third place1995 Manila74 kg
Bronze medal – third place1999 Tehran76 kg

Takamitsu Katayama (片山 貴光, Katayama Takamitsu, born 21 September 1971) is a Japanese former amateur Greco-Roman wrestler, who competed in the men's middleweight category.[1] Katayama wrestled for the Japanese squad in two editions of the Summer Olympics (1996 and 2000), finishing eighth in Atlanta and seventeenth in Sydney, respectively. Outside the Games, Katayama produced a career tally of seven medals in a major international competition, two of which were awarded at the Asian Games (1994 and 1998). Katayama was also a member of the national wrestling squad under coach and three-time Olympian Yasutoshi Moriyama, while training full time at the Sports Club of Self-Defense Forces in Saitama Prefecture.

Katayama came to prominence in international wrestling, when his country Japan hosted the 1994 Asian Games held in Hiroshima. There, he rounded off the podium with a bronze over Iranian wrestler and 1992 Olympian Ahad Javansalehi in the 74-kg division.

At his maiden Olympics in Atlanta 1996, Katayama started the competition in the men's welterweight category (74 kg) with a powerful 13–2 triumph over Algeria's Youcef Bouguerra, before falling behind Finland's eventual silver medalist Marko Asell in his next bout by a 2–4 verdict. Facing German opponent Erik Hahn on the losers' circle, Katayama could not hold him tightly on the mat and lost the match 2–5. Originally placed tenth, Katayama upgraded his position to eighth, as two other wrestlers decided to forfeit the final consolation round.[2]

Katayama reached the peak of his wrestling career by winning the gold medal at the 1997 Asian Championships in Tehran, Iran.[3] When he entered the 1998 Asian Games with the best chance to top the podium in the 76 kg category, Katayama narrowly missed a single point to subdue his Kazakh opponent Bakhtiyar Baiseitov (4–5) for gold in the final match, ending his second Asiad with a silver.

At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Katayama qualified for his second Japanese team in the men's middleweight division (76 kg) by placing seventh and securing a berth at the third Olympic Qualification Tournament in Alexandria, Egypt. Unlike his previous Games, Katayama lost his opening match 0–4 to the eventual champion Murat Kardanov of Russia and could not rally for points to break a 2–2 draw against Hungary's Tamás Berzicza upon the referee's decision, dropping him to the bottom of the prelim pool and seventeenth overall in the final standings..[4][5]

Shortly after the Games, Katayama retired from competitive wrestling to serve in the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Takamitsu Katayama". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  2. ↑ "Atlanta 1996: Wrestling – Men's Greco-Roman 74kg" (PDF). Atlanta 1996. LA84 Foundation. p. 446. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  3. 1 2 "元五輪代表・片山貴光さんが国際復興支援でサマワへ" [Former Olympian Takamitsu Katayama went to Samawa for an international rehabilitation support] (in Japanese). Japan Wrestling. 13 February 2006. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
  4. ↑ "Sydney 2000: Wrestling – Middleweight Greco-Roman (76kg)" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. pp. 105–106. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  5. ↑ "片山、元木ともに敗退・グレコローマンスタイル" [Katayama and Motoki were both eliminated in men's Greco-Roman wrestling] (in Japanese). The Nikkei. 24 September 2000. Retrieved 4 May 2019.
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