Takao Kawaguchi

Takao Kawaguchi (川口 孝夫, Kawaguchi Takao, born 13 April 1950) is a retired judoka who competed in the ‍–‍63 kg division.

Takao Kawaguchi
Personal information
Born (1950-04-13) 13 April 1950
Hiroshima, Japan
Alma materMeiji University
OccupationJudoka
Height1.64 m (5 ft 5 in)
Sport
CountryJapan
SportJudo
Weight class‍–‍63 kg
Coached byAkio Kaminaga
Achievements and titles
World Champ.Gold (1971)
Asian Champ.Gold (1972)
Olympic GamesGold (1972)
Medal record
Men's judo
Representing  Japan
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1972 Munich ‍–‍63 kg
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1971 Ludwigshafen ‍–‍63 kg
Silver medal – second place 1973 Lausanne ‍–‍63 kg
Asian Championships
Gold medal – first place 1972 Kaohsiung ‍–‍63 kg
Profile at external databases
IJF14357
JudoInside.com5402
Updated on 22 June 2023.

Biography

Kawaguchi began training in judo at age 5 under his father, who was a local judo coach.[1] He later won an inter-highschool judo tournament, and in 1969 entered Meiji University.[1] In 1971 he defeated the future Olympic gold medalist Toyokazu Nomura in the world championship final, and became the Japanese representative for the ‍–‍63 kg division at the 1972 Summer Olympics.[2] After two quick victories in the first and second rounds of the Olympic competition, Kawaguchi faced Mongolian judoka Bakhvain Buyadaa in the third round, and broke two ribs while escaping from Buidaa's ground pin.[2] Coach Akio Kaminaga suggested Kawaguchi to withdraw, but Kawaguchi continued, and advanced to the semifinal with a close decision victory. He won the semifinal against Kim Yong-Ik of North Korea with a yoko-shiho-gatame, only to face Buidaa in the final. In contrast to their previous bout, Kawaguchi quickly pinned Buidaa with a kouchi gari, and won with a kami-shiho-gatame within 39 seconds. Buidaa was later disqualified for failing a drug test.[3]

After retiring from competitions Kawaguchi succeeded his father as head of the Kawaguchi dojo.[1] In 2007, the dojo was sued by parents of a boy, who died after hitting the back of his head during the training. The Hiroshima District Court found that Kawaguchi did not follow required safety procedures and ordered him to pay 24 million yen in compensation.[4]

See also

References
  1. "川口道場 館長紹介" (in Japanese). Kawaguchi dojo. Archived from the original on 1 December 2007.
  2. "川口孝夫－骨折に耐え見事な一本勝ち" (in Japanese). Sankei Sports. Archived from the original on August 29, 2008.
  3. "Judo at the 1972 München Summer Games: Men's Lightweight". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  4. "訴訟：金メダル柔道家、中１事故死責任　広島地裁賠償命令" (in Japanese). Mainichi. 8 August 2009. Archived from the original on 10 August 2009.
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