Osamu Watanabe

Biographical information

RolesCompeted in Olympic Games
SexMale
Full nameOsamu•Watanabe
Used nameOsamu•Watanabe
Nick/petnamesAnimal Watanabe
Original name渡辺•長武
Born21 October 1940 in Wassamu, Hokkaido (JPN)
Died1 October 2022 in Tokyo, Tokyo (JPN)
Measurements160 cm / 65 kg
NOC Japan
Medals OG
Gold 1
Silver 0
Bronze 0
Total 1

Biography

It is possible that Osamu Watanabe is the greatest wrestler ever, pound-for-pound. He had a very short career but he was never beaten or scored upon during it. It is known that he won at least 187 consecutive matches until his victory in the 1964 Olympics at Tokyo when he won the featherweight freestyle gold medal. In that tournament, Watanabe won all his matches without sacrificing a single point. This followed Watanabe victories in the 1962 and 1963 world championships. He was not immensely strong, but was very quick and his technical skills were unmatched in his era.

Results

Games Discipline (Sport) / Event NOC / Team Pos Medal As
1964 Summer Olympics Wrestling JPN Osamu Watanabe
Featherweight, Freestyle, Men (Olympic) 1 Gold

Special Notes