Naoya Tsukahara facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Naoya Tsukahara |
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| Country represented |  Japan Australia |
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| Born | June 25, 1977 Nagasaki, Japan |
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| Height | 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Men's artistic gymnastics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Naoya Tsukahara (born June 25, 1977) is a famous artistic gymnast. He won a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics! Naoya is from Japan, but he later moved to Australia and now coaches and competes for them.
Naoya's father, Mitsuo Tsukahara, was also a very successful gymnast. He won many gold medals at the Olympic Games in the 1960s and 70s. Naoya competed for Japan in the Olympics in 1996, 2000, and 2004. He also competed in many World Championships from 1996 to 2006.
In 2009, Naoya moved to Australia. He became an Australian citizen in 2012. After that, he started representing Australia's national gymnastics team. His last big competition for Australia was the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Contents
Naoya's Gymnastics Journey
Early Olympic and World Championship Success
Naoya first competed in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. The Japanese team finished 10th. Naoya competed in the all-around final and placed 12th.
Even though he didn't win a medal in 1996, Naoya became very successful soon after. At the 1997 World Championships, he won two bronze medals. These were for the all-around competition and on the parallel bars. In the 1999 World Championships, he did even better. He won two silver medals, again in the all-around and on parallel bars.
The 2000 Sydney Olympics
After his success at the World Championships, Naoya went to his second Olympic Games. This was the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. The Japanese gymnastics team just missed out on a bronze medal, finishing fourth.
Naoya made it to the finals for the horizontal bar and the all-around competition. He finished 18th in the all-around final. Unfortunately, he had a fall on the horizontal bar, which meant he finished last in that final.
Changes and Challenges (2001–2003)
After the 2000 Olympics, Naoya found it a bit harder to perform at his very best. Also, new talented gymnasts like Hiroyuki Tomita, Isao Yoneda, and Takehiro Kashima became famous in Japan. Naoya's role in the team changed. He became more of a strong support for the Japanese team rather than the main all-around competitor.
At the 2003 World Championships, Naoya reached the finals for the all-around and parallel bars. He finished 7th in the all-around. His teammate, Hiroyuki Tomita, won a bronze medal in that event. Naoya placed 4th on his best event, the parallel bars.
Gold at the 2004 Athens Olympics
Naoya competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. The Japanese team performed incredibly well. They won the team gold medal, which was a huge achievement!
Naoya scored very well on the floor exercise in the preliminary rounds. He had the same score as two of his teammates. However, because of a tie-breaker rule, his teammates went to the final instead of him. He also did not qualify for the all-around final. But winning team gold was a fantastic moment for him and Japan.
Continuing to Compete and Moving to Australia
Naoya was 27 years old when the Athens Olympics finished. This is considered quite old for a gymnast, but he kept competing! He won another bronze medal with the Japanese team at the 2006 World Championships. However, he did not make it to the 2008 Summer Olympics.
In 2009, Naoya moved to Australia. He continued to compete there and won many Australian National Gymnastics Championships in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2013. In 2012, he came in second place behind Joshua Jefferis.
He became an Australian citizen in 2012. This meant he could represent Australia in international competitions. However, the process was not finished in time for him to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games.
In 2013, he competed at the World Championships for Australia. He almost made it to the all-around finals. During this competition, he showed two new moves on the still rings. One of these moves, called the "Li Ning 2 to V-cross," was later named the "Tsukahara" after him! This is a very special honor for a gymnast. His father also had several moves named after him. Naoya also competed in the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, UK.
Naoya Tsukahara officially retired from gymnastics in March 2016.
See also
In Spanish: Naoya Tsukahara para niños
