Olympic Competitor nr 2710
B. 1946-10-11, Niigata Prefecture, Japan
Gymnastics (8 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze)
| 1968 | 1972 | 1976 | HP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual Combined | gold | gold | silver | 25200 |
| Team Combined | gold | gold | gold | 9600 |
| Parallel Bars | gold | gold | 3200 | |
| Floor Exercises | gold | sixth | fifth | 2512.5 |
| Pommeled Horse | silver | fifth | 1250 | |
| Horizontal Bar | silver | 1000 | ||
| Rings | bronze | fourth | sixth | 1320 |
| Vaults | fifth | 250 | ||
| 44332.5 |
In Mexico City, although trailing behind Mikhail Voronin and Akinori Nakayama
after the compulsory exercises, this diminutive gymnast, 1.62m tall and 54kg,
produced an inspiring 9.9 mark on the floor exercises to give him the overall
title. Kato was an all-rounder, not a specialist; in fact he won only six
medals (on the floor gold in 1968, on the bar gold in 1976 and silver in
1972, on the parallel bars gold in 1972, silver on the horse in 1972 and
bronze on the rings in 1968) in individual items, although in '68, this was
due to an injury, sustained during the floor exercise. He was an easier combined
winner in München, where he headed a clean sweep of Japanese medallists.
In Montreal he came second in the individual combined, but he helped Japan
to their fifth team title in a row.
His older brother Takashi (B. 1942) was also part of the Japanese team in
Mexico, earning gold and bronze.
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Written 2001-10-04 - last modified 2011-08-13
This page is part of the site "Full Olympians" by Herman De Wael. See here for a full Introduction.