Takafumi Nishitani
Biographical information
| Roles | Competed in Olympic Games |
|---|---|
| Sex | Male |
| Full name | Takafumi•Nishitani |
| Used name | Takafumi•Nishitani |
| Original name | 西谷•岳文 |
| Born | 17 January 1979 in Tadaoka, Osaka (JPN) |
| Measurements | 173 cm / 64 kg |
| Affiliations | Metts/Thanko |
| NOC |  Japan |
| Medals | OG |
| Gold | 1 |
| Silver | 0 |
| Bronze | 0 |
| Total | 1 |
Biography
A former baseball player, the 19-year-old Takafumi Nishitani qualified for the 1998 Olympics by winning the 500 m in the Japanese Championships. Not much was expected of him at his home Games, so his qualification for the 500 m final already meant a huge surprise. Nishitani himself obviously expected more, and brought an extra pair of pants and hair gel just for the medal ceremony. In the race, he led from the start to take the gold, Japan’s first in Olympic short track speed skating. It proved Nishitani’s only major international result. After a disappointing showing at the Torino Olympics, he quit short track and switched to cycling, taking part in the very popular Japanese keirin circuit.
Results
| Games | Discipline (Sport) / Event | NOC / Team | Pos | Medal | As | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 Winter Olympics | Short Track Speed Skating (Skating) | JPN |
Takafumi Nishitani | |||
| 500 metres, Men (Olympic) | 1 | Gold | ||||
| 5,000 metres Relay, Men (Olympic) | Japan | |||||
| 2002 Winter Olympics | Short Track Speed Skating (Skating) | JPN |
Takafumi Nishitani | |||
| 500 metres, Men (Olympic) | 8 | |||||
| 5,000 metres Relay, Men (Olympic) | Japan | 5 | ||||
| 2006 Winter Olympics | Short Track Speed Skating (Skating) | JPN |
Takafumi Nishitani | |||
| 500 metres, Men (Olympic) | 15 | |||||
| 5,000 metres Relay, Men (Olympic) | Japan |
Olympic Records
Records may have been broken subsequently during the same competition.| Games | Date | Sport | Event | Phase | Mark | Pos |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 Winter Olympics | 21 February 1998 | Short Track Speed Skating (Skating) | 500 metres, Men | Semi-Finals, Heat Two | 42.756 | 1 |
Special Notes
- Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the Asian Winter Games (0–1–1 2003 Aomori STK silver: 500 m, bronze: 5000 m relay)
- Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the Winter Universiade (2–1–2 1999 Poprad Tatry STK gold: 5000 m relay, silver: 3000 m, bronze: 500 m; 2001 Zakopane STK gold: 500 m, bronze: 5000 m relay)
- Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships (0–1–0 2000 Sheffield silver: 5000 m relay)
- Listed in Olympians Who Won a Medal at the World Short Track Speed Skating Team Championships (0–0–2 1999 St.Louis bronze; 2004 St. Petersburg bronze)