Obituary

Jiichiro Date, Montreal 1976 Gold Medalist, Dies at 66

Friday, February 23, 2018 - 16:20 By Ken Marantz

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Jiichiro Date, the gold medalist in freestyle 74kg at the Montreal 1976 Olympic Games, has died, the Japan Wrestling Federation announced on its website Thursday. He was 66.

According to an announcement by Kokushikan University, Date's alma mater, he died in a fall on Tuesday night at his home in Chofu, Metropolitan Tokyo, the website and Japanese media reported. No further details were provided.

Date, native of Saeki, Oita Prefecture, in southern Japan, had success in both freestyle and Greco-Roman, the JWF website said. 

In 1970 at Kokushikan, he became the first freshman in history to win a national collegiate title he won the Greco-Roman 74kg crown. That year, he finished second in the national senior championships, and in 1971, won another silver medal--this time in freestyle.

He captured his first national senior title in 1972 in Greco-Roman 74kg, which earned him a place on his first Olympic team. At the Munich 1972 Olympics, he lost in the third round.

After that, he exclusively switched to freestyle. Relying on an effective high crotch attack, he won a bronze medal at the 1975 world championships in Minsk. After finishing second at the Japan championships in 1974 and 1975, he won the first of three national freestyle titles in 1976. 

At the Montreal Olympics, he won the 74kg gold, beating American Stan Dziedzic in the semifinals and Iran's Mansoor Barzegar, the 1975 world silver medalist, in the final.  He won six of his seven matches by fall. Sadly, he never got the opportunity to defend his Olympic title, as Japan joined the boycott of Moscow 1980. 

In a country where global success is mostly limited to lightweights, Date stood out as a source of inspiration for wrestlers in the heavier classes.

The JWF website said that after retiring, Date returned to Kokushikan to become the school's coach. He also served in various coaching positions with the Japan national team in the late 1980s and 90s, and was a member of the staff at the Barcelona 1992 Olympics.

From 2015, he was serving as general manager of Kokushikan's sumo wrestling club. Date's ties to sumo go back years, and according to Japanese media, he helped bring former grand champion Musashimaru from Hawaii to Japan to join the sumo world, after Date spent time coaching at Musashimaru's high school. 

Last November, he was said to be in high spirits as he gave the welcoming speech as an Olympic gold medalist at the 100th anniversary party for Kokushikan University. 

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Two-time Olympic champ Risako Kinjo brings curtain down on stellar career

Sunday, October 12, 2025 - 23:14 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO, Japan (October 12) -- Risako KINJO (JPN), who won two Olympic gold medals under her maiden name of Kawai before capturing a fourth world title last year after giving birth, officially announced her retirement over the weekend.

"I felt that I had experienced everything that was good about being a wrestler," the 31-year-old Kinjo told the Japanese media Sunday on bringing down the curtain on one of wrestling's most sterling careers. "I felt fulfilled and happy with a life in which wrestling was my passion."

Kinjo also revealed that she is pregnant with her second child as she spoke to the media at the Japan Women's Open in Akitsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, where she was coaching younger sister Yukako TSUNEMURA (JPN), who was returning to the mat for the first time since becoming a mother herself.

Kinjo first announced her retirement on her Instagram account on Saturday night, stating that in the 24 years since she started wrestling at age 7, "I have had good experiences and bad, highs and lows. But to win four world championships and two consecutive Olympics was all due to the support and encouragement of many people. I thank them all."

Kinjo first struck Olympic gold at 63kg at Rio in 2016, then won out in a duel that captivated the wrestling world with fellow Rio and four-time Olympic champion Kaori ICHO (JPN) for the 57kg spot at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, where she took home a second gold.

Of the clash of the titans with Icho, Kawai remarked, "I had no more difficult period than that. I'm glad I was able to experience it."

In the Tokyo semifinals, Kinjo had to face yet another Rio gold medalist in Helen MAROULIS (USA), who had moved up from 53kg. Kinjo came away with a 2-1 win, then defeated Iryna KURACHKINA (UWW) 5-0 for the gold.

With Yukako also winning the 62kg gold, it elevated the Kawai sisters to celebrity status in the host country. The two got their start in the sport at the kids' club run by their mother. Both of their parents were national-level wrestlers.

Soon after Tokyo, Risako married former wrestler Kiryu KINJO, and in May 2022, gave birth to a baby girl. Instead of settling down to a domestic life, motherhood lit a fresh flame to continue the sport.

"I had originally planned to win the Tokyo Olympics and then retire gracefully," Kinjo said. "I even told people around me that I would quit after the Tokyo Olympics. But when I got married and got pregnant, I felt that my body wasn't only my own, and I wanted to continue wrestling.

"While I was pregnant, I watched Yukako's matches and thought to myself, 'If it were me, I would do it like this,' so after my child was born, I decided to try it again."

Her bid to win a third straight Olympic gold in Paris, however, was derailed by the reigning world 57kg champion Tsugumi SAKURAI (JPN), who went on to triumph in the French capital.

Rebuffing speculation that the loss would mark her swan song, she showed her passion for the sport by sticking around. With the incentive of wanting to have her daughter see her compete and make some history, she had no qualms about moving into the non-Olympic weight of 59kg.

She suffered a setback of sorts at the Asian Championships in April 2024, when she lost to Qi ZHANG (CHN) in the semifinals and had to settle for a bronze medal.

But she righted the ship at the Non-Olympic Weight World Championships in October that year in Tirana, Albania, where she cruised into the 59kg final and defeated Tserenchimed SUKHEE (MGL) 4-2.

"No one from Japan had ever achieved becoming a 'world No. 1 as a mama', and it would be ideal if I could do it," Kinjo recalled thinking. "When I accomplished it at the World Championships last October, as soon as it was over I thought there is nothing else that I want."

That victory added to the three consecutive senior world golds that she won from 2017 to 2019. She also has a silver from 2015, and her laurels include a world cadet (U17) gold and two world junior (U20) titles, and she was a four-time Asian champion.

Kinjo was a star at Shigakkan University during its golden era as the elite powerhouse of women's wrestling in Japan, also producing such greats as Icho, Saori YOSHIDA (JPN), Eri TOSAKA (JPN), Mayu MUKAIDA (JPN) and Sara DOSHO (JPN).

Looking ahead, she says her focus will be on raising her new baby while staying involved in the sport.

"Right now I am eight months pregnant, and first and foremost I will put my full efforts into proper childcare. And at the same time, I will be Yukako's coach and always maintain a link to wrestling," she said.

At the Japan Women's Open, a second-tier event that offers qualifying spots at the All-Japan Championships, Yukako showed she still has some rust to be knocked off. Entered at 59kg, she won her first two matches before falling to high schooler Miuna KIMURA (JPN) 4-1 in the semifinals.

The tournament also saw the return of Sakurai for her first competition since winning the gold in Paris. She needed three wins to take the 57kg title, defeating collegian Himeka HASEGAWA (JPN) 5-0 in the final.