Yoshinobu Miyake

Tokyo, 12 October 1964, Games of the XVIII Olympiad. Weightlifting, 60kg category: Yoshinobu MIYAKE of Japan performs. He won the gold medal with a total of 397.5 kg. Credit: IOC Olympic Museum Collections

Born: 24 November 1939

Birthplace: Miyagi Prefecture (Japan)

Nationality: Japan

Sport: Weightlifting

ATTENDANCE AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES

Rome 1960

Tokyo 1964

Mexico 1968

Munich 1972

AWARDS

Olympic medals:

Gold: 2

Silver: 1

Details

Other results:

World Championships

Gold: 6 (1962 -1966,1968)

Bronze: 1 (1961)

Lifting Medals Throughout the Sixties

Yoshinobu Miyake was Japan's greatest weightlifter and is considered one of the strongest men ever, pound-for-pound. He finished second in the 1960 Olympic bantamweight class and then won gold medals at the 1964 and 1968 Olympics as a featherweight. He participated again in the Munich Games 1972, finishing 4th in the featherweight class. He also won world championships in 1962, 1963, and 1965-66. Miyake set 25 world records, including 10 consecutive records in the snatch and nine consecutive overall records in the 60kg. class. Miyake later became Japanese national weightlifting coach. His brother, Yoshiyuki Miyake, also a weightlifter, won the bronze medal in the 1968 Olympic featherweight class and won world championship in 1969 and 1971.