Kazuhiro Ninomiya (二宮 和弘, Ninomiya Kazuhiro; 28 November 1946 – 4 May 2026) was a Japanese judoka who competed in the 1976 Summer Olympics.[1]
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 28 November 1946 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 4 May 2026 (aged 79) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Judoka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Japan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Judo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight class | –93 kg, +93 kg, Open | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympic Games |  (1976) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Champ. | 
(1973) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Asian Champ. | 
(1972) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Profile at external databases | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IJF | 54415 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| JudoInside.com | 5445 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Updated on 21 June 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Biography
editAfter graduating from Tenri University, Ninomiya entered the Shoki Juku under the instruction of Isao Okano.[2] He joined the Fukuoka Prefecture police force in April 1972,[2] and placed third in the All-Japan Judo Championships that year. He won a gold medal in the heavyweight division of the Asian Judo Championships in 1970 and the open weight division of the 1973 World Championships held in Lausanne, Switzerland by defeating future Olympic gold medalist Haruki Uemura. He won a silver medal at the 1975 World Championships and won the All-Japan Judo Championships for the first time in 1976 to qualify for the 1976 Summer Olympics. However, the Japanese Olympic team had already decided on Haruki Uemura and Sumio Endo as the representatives for the Openweight and Heavyweight divisions, and Ninomiya was forced to enter the competition as a half heavyweight (–93 kg), shedding over 7 kg from his usual competitive weight.[3] Regardless, Ninomiya used his long reach and height (at 6 ft. 2 in., he was considerably tall for a half heavyweight) to become the first Japanese judoka to win a gold medal in the half heavyweight division.
Ninomiya retired after competing in the 1978 Jigoro Kano Cup along with Isamu Sonoda.[2] He and Sonoda were rivals and friends for over 30 years, having been born the same year, entered the same police force, competed in the same World Championships and Olympics, and retired at the same time.[2] After serving as an advisor for several local and prefectural level judo committees, he became a judo instructor at the Nishinippon Institute of Technology in 2007.[4]
He joined under Isao Okano's instruction in the Dojo called "Seiki Juku."
Ninomiya died on 4 May 2026, at the age of 79.[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Kazuhiro Ninomiya". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 "福岡県警 園田勇と二宮和弘". Nishinippon Shimbun. Archived from the original on 10 November 2007.
- ↑ "二宮和弘－「金に最も遠い階級」で快挙". Sankei Sports. Archived from the original on 20 September 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
- ↑ "モントリオールオリンピック金メダリスト二宮和弘氏が本学柔道部監督へ就任！！". Nishinippon Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on 10 August 2007. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
- ↑ "柔道・モントリオール五輪金メダリストの二宮和弘さんが死去 九州柔道協会会長". nishispo.nishinippon. 4 May 2026. Retrieved 4 May 2026.
External links
edit- Kazuhiro Ninomiya at the International Judo Federation
- Kazuhiro Ninomiya at JudoInside.com
- Kazuhiro Ninomiya at Olympics.com
- Kazuhiro Ninomiya at Olympedia
- Kazuhiro Ninomiya at InterSportStats
- Kazuhiro Ninomiya at The-Sports.org
