was a Japanese athlete and the first Japanese Olympic gold medalist. He was the first

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

Olympic champion This article includes lists of all Olympic medalists since 1896, organized by each Olympic sport or discipline, and also by Olympiad. Medalist with most medals by sport Summer Olympic sports Sports that will appear in the 2028 Summer Olympics ar ...

in an individual event.Mikio Oda
sports-reference.com

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

. Retrieved on 26 April 2010.

Biography

Oda was born in Kaita, Hiroshima Prefecture. At the age of 17, he set a new Japanese record for the

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

at the 1923 Far Eastern Championship Games held in

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, and also won the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

and

high jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

events. He was selected as a member of the Japanese Olympic team for the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad () and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had al ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, participating in all three events. However, he failed to reach the semifinals in the

and

, and placed sixth in the triple jump competition. On his return to Japan, he enrolled at

Waseda University Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...

, but returned to compete in the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. Although he again did not reach the semifinals in the

and

, he won the triple jump event with a result of 15.21 meters, becoming the first Japanese athlete to win an Olympic gold medal. In 1931, Oda graduated from Waseda University and was employed by the

Asahi Shimbun is a Japanese daily newspaper founded in 1879. It is one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. The ''Asahi Shimbun'' is one of the five largest newspapers in Japan along with the ''Yom ...

newspaper. On 27 October of the same year, he established a new

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

for the triple jump of 15.58 meters. Oda served as coach and captain of the Japanese athletics team at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932, in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held du ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. Upon retirement from competitive athletics, he focused his efforts on sports administration, becoming a member of the

Japanese Olympic Committee The is the National Olympic Committee in Japan for the Olympic Games movement, based in Tokyo, Japan. It is a non-profit organisation that selects teams and raises funds to send Japanese competitors to Olympic events organised by the Internati ...

in 1948 and later taking part in the

's technical committee. He also served as coach for the Japanese athletics team at the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1952 in Helsinki, Finland. After Japan declared in ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

and the

1954 Asian Games The 1954 Asian Games (), officially known as the Second Asian Games – Manila 1954, were a multi-sport event held in Manila, Philippines, from May 1 to 9, 1954. A total of 970 athletes from 19 Asian National Olympic Committees (NOCs) competed in ...

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

. During the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, the Olympic flag was raised to a height of exactly 15.21 meters, to pay respect to Oda's achievement 36 years earlier. Oda field, a 400-meter running track in Yoyogi built for the 1964 Olympics, was named after Oda.Shibuya City Hal
Shibuya City Office / Public Facilities
Retrieved on 21 October 2013 His sporting achievements were recognized with the creation of the Mikio Oda Memorial International Amateur Athletic Game, an annual

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

competition that has been held since 1967. He became a professor at Waseda University from 1965. In 1976, Oda was awarded the

Olympic Order The Olympic Order, established in 1975, is the highest award of the Olympic Movement. It is awarded for particularly distinguished contributions to the Olympic Movement, i.e. recognition of efforts worthy of merit in the cause of sport. Tradit ...

, the highest award of the Olympic Movement. In 1988, Oda was honored by the government as a

Person of Cultural Merit is an official Japanese recognition and honour which is awarded annually to select people who have made outstanding cultural contributions. This distinction is intended to play a role as a part of a system of support measures for the promotion of ...

, and in 1989, he was named honorary chairman of the

Japan Association of Athletics Federations The is the national governing body for the sport of Athletics (sport), athletics in Japan. Presidents *Ryōzō Hiranuma (1929–1958) *Hiroshi Kasuga (1958–1964) *Ichirō Kōno (1965) *Kenzō Kōno (1965–1975) *Hanji Aoki (1975–1999) *Yōh ...

. In the final years of his life, Oda moved from his home at

Aburatsubo is an inlet on the west side of the Miura Peninsula in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa, Japan, facing Sagami Bay on the Pacific Ocean. It exits into neighbouring Moroiso inlet. History During historic times, the Aburatsubo inlet was selected by ...

Yokosuka, Kanagawa is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city has a population of 373,797, and a population density of . The total area is . Yokosuka is the 11th-most populous city in the Greater Tokyo Area, and the 12th in the Kantō region. The city is ...

to a nursing home in Kugenuma (Fujisawa, Kanagawa). His grave is at the Buddhist temple of Tokei-ji in

Kamakura , officially , is a city of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. It is located in the Kanto region on the island of Honshu. The city has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 people per km2 over the tota ...

. In 2000, Oda was posthumously chosen as the best Asian male athlete of the century by a panel of track and field experts.

References

External links

Mikio Oda at olympic.orgExtensive interview with Oda
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oda, Mikio 1905 births 1998 deaths Athletics from Hiroshima Prefecture Japanese athletics coaches Japanese male high jumpers Japanese male long jumpers Japanese male triple jumpers Japanese decathletes Olympic male high jumpers Olympic male long jumpers Olympic male triple jumpers Olympic athletes for Japan Olympic gold medalists for Japan Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 1924 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1928 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1932 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Japan Championships in Athletics winners World record setters in athletics (track and field) Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon Recipients of the Olympic Order Waseda University alumni The Asahi Shimbun people Academic staff of Waseda University 20th-century Japanese sportsmen

Biography

See also

References

External links