The first Japanese Olympic Gold Medallist, Mikio Oda passed away on 2 December in Kamakura. He was 93 years old. At the time of his death he was the honorary president of JAAF.
Born in Hiroshima prefecture, he started to participate in track & field in his junior high school days, and set various Japanese National Records in the high jump, long jump and triple jump.He participated in three Olympic games, Paris, Amsterdam and Los Angeles. In his first game, the Paris Olympics of 1924, he was 6th in the Triple Jump. And in the Amsterdam Games of 1928, he became the first Japanese to win the Olympic Gold medal with 15.21m triple jump.His winning record is commemorated as the memorial flag pole posted nearby the 100m starting line in the field of the National Stadium in Tokyo.
In the fall of 1931 while working for Asahi newspaper (Japan's premier newspaper) after graduating from Waseda University, he set the World Triple jump record of 15.58m. For a time he was a professor at his alma mater, Waseda University.
From the 1952 Helsinki Games to the 1964 Tokyo Games, he was the national coach for the Japanese Olympic team. He was also a founding member of ATFS.
Even in his eighties, he was at the stadium in many track & field meets in Japan. His last visit to the stadium in my memory was 4th of October last year at the age of 92! We had a nice luncheon talk with him encircled by triple jump alumnae in the VIP room behind the royal-box of the national stadium during the national championships.
He was also a veteran of the IAAF elected in 1976, and also a founding member of ITFCA, International Track & Field Coaches Association that was started back in the early 1950's in Berkley, California.
The Oda Memorial Meet in Hiroshima is held on a national holiday on 29th of April every year, since 1967, commemorating his achievements and services to athletics.
He was a real pioneer of sporting culture in Japan and international development without any political agenda or desire for power.
May his soul rest in peace
Yukito Muraki & Ken Nakamura
