Sawao Katō facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sawao Katō
Katō in 1970
Personal information
Country represented	Japan
Born	(1946-10-11) October 11, 1946 (age 78) Gosen, Niigata, Japan
Height	1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Discipline	Men's artistic gymnastics
Retired	1977
Medal record Olympic Games Gold 1968 Mexico City Team Gold 1968 Mexico City All-around Gold 1968 Mexico City Floor Gold 1972 Munich Team Gold 1972 Munich All-around Gold 1972 Munich Parallel bars Gold 1976 Montreal Team Gold 1976 Montreal Parallel bars Silver 1972 Munich Pommel horse Silver 1972 Munich Horizontal bar Silver 1976 Montreal All-around Bronze 1968 Mexico City Rings World Championships Gold 1974 Varna Team

Sawao Katō (加藤 澤男, Katō Sawao, born October 11, 1946) is a famous Japanese former gymnast. He is known as one of the most successful Olympic athletes of all time. Between 1968 and 1976, he won an amazing twelve Olympic medals. Eight of these were gold medals, making him the Japanese athlete with the most Olympic gold medals.

Sawao Katō: A Gymnastics Legend

Early Life and First Olympics

Sawao Katō, a legendary gymnast.

Sawao Katō was born in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, on October 11, 1946. He studied at the Tokyo Kyoiku University, which is now known as the University of Tsukuba.

His first time competing in the Olympics was in 1968. He went to the games in Mexico City with his older brother, Takeshi. Together, they helped Japan win the gold medal in the team competition. Sawao also won two more gold medals that year. He was the best in the individual all-around event and on the floor exercise. He also earned a bronze medal on the rings.

Dominating the Olympic Stage

Four years later, at the 1972 Munich Olympics, the Japanese men's gymnastics team was incredibly strong. They won 15 out of 21 individual medals! Sawao Katō continued his winning streak. He won gold medals in the all-around competition and on the parallel bars. He also took home two silver medals, one for the horizontal bar and another for the pommel horse.

At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Sawao Katō tried to win his third straight gold medal in the all-around. This would have been a truly amazing achievement! However, he was beaten by Nikolai Andrianov from the Soviet Union and won a silver medal instead.

The team competition was very close that year. But the Japanese team managed to beat the Soviet team by a tiny amount, just four-tenths of a point. This victory earned Japan their fifth team gold medal in a row! Sawao Katō finished his incredible Olympic career by winning another gold medal on the parallel bars.

A True Olympic Champion

Sawao Katō is one of only ten athletes in history to have won eight or more Olympic gold medals. He is considered one of the most successful male gymnasts ever to compete at the Olympics. His eight gold medals and twelve total medals are among the best in the sport's history. Only a few other gymnasts, like Nikolai Andrianov, Boris Shakhlin, and Takashi Ono, have similar impressive records.

He has won more Olympic gold medals than any other Japanese Olympian. He is also second in the total number of medals won by a Japanese athlete, right after Takashi Ono. In 2001, Sawao Katō was honored for his amazing career. He was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

As of 2010, Sawao Katō was a professor at the University of Tsukuba. This means he taught and did research there. On May 14, 2021, a special honor was given to him. An asteroid, a small rocky body in space, was named after him! It is called 43212 Katosawao. This asteroid was discovered in 2000 by astronomers working on the LINEAR project.

See also

In Spanish: Sawao Kato para niños

• List of multiple Olympic gold medalists
• List of multiple Olympic medalists
• List of multiple Summer Olympic medalists
• List of Olympic medal leaders in men's gymnastics