The Japanese team won five straight gold medals from 1960 to 1976, edging out the Soviet Union each time. A vault that still bears the father's name, the Tsukahara, was first performed about 30 years ago by Mitsuo Tsukahara. It consists of a cartwheel with a quarter-turn followed by a backward somersault. The maneuver marked the first time a gymnast had performed a 360-degree somersault while vaulting, and the acrobatics revolutionized the event. Japan has not won a gold medal for gymnastics since the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, when Koji Gushiken struck gold in the all-around competition and on the still rings, and Shinji Morisue won a gold medal on the horizontal bar.
Gymnasts here are almost entirely dependent on corporate sponsorship.
But a decade of economic decline, coupled with the dwindling fortunes of Japan's gymnasts, has resulted in diminished financial support for the sport. Takamiya said that even Daiwa Bank, long known as a backer of gymnastics here, has cut back its support. A victory by Naoya Tsukahara or any other member of the Japanese team in Sydney could change that. My guess is that the only way to save it is for Naoya to win a gold medal. The lack of air-conditioning at the Asahi Gymnastics Club, where Naoya works out, is a telling sign of the times.