Haruhiro Yamashita | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country represented | Japan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Uwajima, Ehime, Japan | November 11, 1938||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 60 kg (132 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Discipline | Men's artistic gymnastics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
|
Haruhiro Yamashita (山下 治広, Yamashita Haruhiro, born November 11, 1938) is a Japanese gymnast, who competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics. He won two gold medals, in the vault and team combined exercises.[1]
After marriage he changed his last name from Yamashita to Matsuda (松田), adopting his aunt's surname, who took care of him as a child.[2] In 1961, he graduated from Nippon Sport Science University, where in 1983 he became professor and later professor emeritus.[3] In the early 1970s he was an assistant gymnastics coach under Roger Council at the Indiana State University. There he began his research on biorhythms.[4]
Yamashita also trained the national gymnastics team, at the 1976 Summer Olympics and at the Asian Games in 1990,[3] and held senior positions with the Japan Gymnastics Association.[5]
In 2000 Yamashita was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.[6] He is an honorary citizen of his native town of Uwajima.[5]