After having failed to win gold in the first two days of the Munich Olympics, the Japanese contingent was understandably nervous about the third day. Their representative was Shinobu Sekine, a police officer from Chuo University was a rival of the charismatic Isao Okano. Having seen Okano win gold at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Sekine set his sights on representing Japan in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. As judo was not included in the program, he had to wait until four years later.
Munich 1972, -80kg: Shinobu Sekine (JPN)
Munich 1972, -80kg: Shinobu Sekine (JPN)
Munich 1972, -80kg: Shinobu Sekine (JPN)
After having failed to win gold in the first two days of the Munich Olympics, the Japanese contingent was understandably nervous about the third day. Their representative was Shinobu Sekine, a police officer from Chuo University was a rival of the charismatic Isao Okano. Having seen Okano win gold at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Sekine set his sights on representing Japan in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. As judo was not included in the program, he had to wait until four years later.