Ryoji Naraoka

Ryoji Naraoka was the first Japanese race walker to compete at the Olympics. A former student at Aomori Normal School he placed 19th in the 50 km walk at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. In 1944 he moved to China, working as an Associate Professor at the Beijing University. After returning to Japan, Naraoka served as head of various high schools in his home prefecture Aomori. In 1967, he founded the “Endurance Hiking” campaign. In 1971 he was appointed professor at Hirosaki Gakuin University holding this position until 1988. Naraoka also wrote a handbook about race walking.

Personal Best: 50kmW – 4-46:22 (1937).