 Toru Terasawa at the 1964 Olympics | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 4, 1935 Toyama Prefecture, Japan |
| Height | 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in) |
| Weight | 54 kg (119 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Long-distance running |
Toru Terasawa (寺沢 徹, Terasawa Tōru, born January 4, 1935) is a former Japanese long-distance runner who on February 17, 1963 set a world record in the marathon with a time of 2:15:16 at the Beppu Marathon. Terasawa placed second in the marathon at the 1964 Japanese Olympic trials[1] and 15th at the 1964 Summer Olympics.[2] Terasawa is also a two-time champion of the Fukuoka Marathon; he set a Japanese national record during his 1962 victory (2:16:18.4) and improved on it when he won in 1964 (2:14:48.2).[3] At Fukuoka in 1966, he finished fifth (2:15:51.2) after colliding with Jim Hogan, the 1966 European marathon champion, and falling to the pavement just before the half way mark.[3]
When Morio Shigematsu set the world record at the 1965 Polytechnic Marathon, Terasawa finished second.[4] His 2:13:41 performance was the third best ever at the time[5] In 1965, he set his second world record, in the 30 km,[6] and in 1969 he won the Nagano Marathon.[7]
