Yukako Kawai (川井 友香子, Kawai Yukako, born 27 August 1997) is a Japanese freestyle wrestler. She won the gold medal in the women's 62 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan.[1]
.jpg) Yukako Kawai at the 2020 Summer Olympics | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 August 1997 Tsubata, Ishikawa Prefecture[citation needed] |
| Height | 162 cm (5.31 ft; 64 in) |
| Sport | |
| Country | Japan |
| Sport | Amateur wrestling |
| Weight class | 62 kg |
| Event | Freestyle |
Medal record | |
In 2018, she won the silver medal in the women's 62 kg event at the World Wrestling Championships held in Budapest, Hungary.[2][3] A year later, she won one of the bronze medals in this event.[4][5][6]
Career
editIn 2017, she competed in the women's 63 kg event at the World Wrestling Championships in Paris, France without winning a medal.[7] She won her first match against Elmira Gambarova of Azerbaijan but she was eliminated from the competition in her next match against Jackeline Rentería of Colombia. Rentería went on to win one of the bronze medals.
She won the gold medal in the women's 62 kg event at the 2020 Asian Wrestling Championships held in New Delhi, India.[8][9] In the final, she defeated Ayaulym Kassymova of Kazakhstan.[8][9]
In 2021, Kawai won the gold medal in the 62 kg wrestling division at the Tokyo Olympics. Her elder sister Risako won gold in the 57 kg division the following day.[10]
Achievements
edit| Year | Tournament | Location | Result | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | World Championships | Budapest, Hungary | 2nd | Freestyle 62 kg |
| 2019 | Asian Championships | Xi'an, China | 2nd | Freestyle 62 kg |
| World Championships | Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan | 3rd | Freestyle 62 kg | |
| 2020 | Asian Championships | New Delhi, India | 1st | Freestyle 62 kg |
| 2021 | Summer Olympics | Tokyo, Japan | 1st | Freestyle 62 kg |
References
edit- ^ Pavitt, Michael (4 August 2021). "Kawai succeeds sister as Olympic champion with women's 62kg wrestling triumph". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ "2018 World Wrestling Championships Results" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 April 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ Diamond, James (25 October 2018). "Japan win two golds and a silver on final day of women's action as Hungary claim first medal at World Wrestling Championships". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ Rowbottom, Mike (20 September 2019). "Tynybekova earns first-ever world wrestling gold for Kyrgyzstan". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ "2019 World Wrestling Championships Results" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
- ^ "Yukako Kawai earns family's second medal at 2019 world championships". The Japan Times. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
- ^ "2017 World Wrestling Championships" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
- ^ a b Pavitt, Michael (21 February 2020). "Kazakhstan and Japan share final women's titles at Asian Wrestling Championships". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
- ^ a b "2020 Asian Wrestling Championships" (PDF). United World Wrestling. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 May 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
- ^ Landers, Serena (August 5, 2021), "Wrestling: Risako Kawai Follows Sister Yukako in Winning Gold", Japan Forward
External links
edit
- Yukako Kawai at United World Wrestling
- Yukako Kawai at the International Wrestling Database
- Yukako Kawai at Olympics.com
- Yukako Kawai at Olympedia
