Keith Nakasone (born January 20, 1956) is a former competitive

judoka is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

and native of

Okinawa, Japan is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan. It consists of three main island groups—the Okinawa Islands, the Sakishima Islands, and the Daitō Islands—spread across a maritime zone approximately 1,000 kilometers east to west ...

. Nakasone is a four time (1974–1977) national collegiate judo champion at

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the List of oldest schools in California, oldest public university on the West Coast of ...

competing in the 132 lbs division. In 1978, Keith suffered a serious ankle injury. Nakasone qualified for the 1980 U.S. Olympic team but did not compete due to the U.S. Olympic Committee's boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union. He is one of 461 U.S. Olympians to receive a

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is the oldest and highest civilian award in the United States, alongside the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is bestowed by vote of the United States Congress, signed into law by the president. The Gold Medal exp ...

as a member of the 1980 Olympic team.

References

Living people 1956 births American male judoka American people of Okinawan descent Congressional Gold Medal recipients American sportspeople of Japanese descent San Jose State Spartans judoka 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-judo-bio-stub