Yoshi Oyakawa
Oyakawa at the Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial near Kaimana Beach | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Yoshinobu Oyakawa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname | "Yoshi" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | August 9, 1933 Kona, Territory of Hawaii, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 154 lb (70 kg) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Strokes | Backstroke | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Hawaii Swim Club Hilo Aquatic Club | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | Ohio State University | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coach | Mike Peppe (Ohio State) Charles "Sparky" Kawamoto (Hilo Aquatic Club) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Yoshinobu Oyakawa (Japanese: 親川 義信, born August 9, 1933) is an American former competition swimmer, 1952 Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in the 100-meter backstroke. He is considered to be the last of the great "straight-arm-pull" backstrokers. He still holds the world record in this technique.
Oyakawa was born in Kona, Hawaii to the Rev. and Mrs. Edward Oyakawa and raised in Papaikou. He has an older sister, Dorothy, and an older brother, Ensie Michio. Oyakawa may have done his earliest swimming in Pake Pond in Papaikou. He first attended East Honolulu's Kalanianaole High School, known as Kalani High School prior to Hilo High School in the Southeast Central coastal portion of the island of Hawaii. A 1951 graduate, he began competitive swimming as a Sophomore at Hilo High around 1948 under Coach Charles Kiyoishi "Sparky" Kawamoto at the Hilo Aquatic Club. He won his first Hawaiian 100-meter AAU backstroke championship swimming for the Hilo Club in 1950, and repeated in 1951. His 1951 100-meter backstroke time of 1:07.5 in the Hawaiian AAU meet was America's best that year in a long course pool.