Japanese gymnasts to visit New Zealand

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33153, 17 February 1973, Page 4

Japanese gymnasts to visit New Zealand

Three of the world’s most accomplished athletes, members of the Japanese men’s gymnastic team at the Munich Olympics, will show their prowess in a display at Cowles Stadium on Tuesday. Two of the gymnasts — Akinori Nakayama and Shigeru Kasamatsu — were medallists at Munich. Nakayama taking the gold medal in one of the most demanding exercises, the rings. He was also third over-all. Kasamatu gained a silver and two bronze medals at Munich, but the third member of the team, Fumio Honma, did not compete. He was reprimanded before the Games began, and sent back to Japan. Nakayama who will be 30 next month is the most experienced of the trio, and has been among the top male gymnasts for the last eight years. His first major win was at the world championships in Dortmund in 1966, where he was third over-all and first in the floor and horizontal bar exercises. At the Mexico Olympics two years later he won the bronze medal in the over-all placings and gold medals on the rings, parallel bars and horizontal bar. At the 1970 world championships in Ljubljana, Jugoslavia, he was again third over-all, and first in two exercises. At an international competition in Japan last December all three gymnasts who will visit New Zealand gained first places against strong opposition which included the Russian champions, Nikolai Andrianov and Mikhail Voronin. Fumio made amends for missing the Olympics by winning two exercises and being second in two others. At 25, he should be at the peak of his career when the next Olympics are held at Montreal in 1976. Kasamatsu, also aged 25, has had four years of international competition, including the world championships as Ljubljana, and two contests between Japan and Russia. The gymnasts visit to New Zealand is primarily for the opening of a conference centre and sports stadium at Nelson and is being sponsored by Benson and Hedges and Air New Zealand.

The Nelson display is on Monday and the New Zealand Gymnastic Association has managed to get the team to perform at Christchurch and three North Island cities. There will be two displays in Christchurch, one at 2.30 p.m. for schoolchildren and the other at 8 p.m. for the' public. The gymnasts will compete over the six exer-

cises and give displays of tumbling each time. Several Canterbury gymnasts will help to fill out the programme, and there will also be a judo exhibition. Canterbury woman gymnasts will compete in both sports and modern gymnastics, there will be a tumbling competition and several top junior boys will also be competing.