Yoshinobu Oyakawa (Japanese: 親川 義信,[1] born August 9, 1933) is an American former competition swimmer, 1952 Olympic champion, and former world record-holder in the 100-meter backstroke. He is considered to be the last of the great "straight-arm-pull" backstrokers. He still holds the world record in this technique.[2][3][4][5]
Oyakawa was born in Kona, Hawaii to the Rev. and Mrs. Edward Oyakawa and raised in Papaikou. He has an older sister, Dorothy, and an older brother, Ensie Michio.[6] Oyakawa may have done his earliest swimming in Pake Pond in Papaikou. He first attended East Honolulu's Kalanianaole High School, known as Kalani High School prior to Hilo High School in the Southeast Central coastal portion of the island of Hawaii.[7] A 1951 graduate, he began competitive swimming as a Sophomore at Hilo High around 1948 under Coach Charles Kiyoishi "Sparky" Kawamoto at the Hilo Aquatic Club. He won his first Hawaiian 100-meter AAU backstroke championship swimming for the Hilo Club in 1950, and repeated in 1951.[6] His 1951 100-meter backstroke time of 1:07.5 in the Hawaiian AAU meet was America's best that year in a long course pool.[4]
College
Beginning in the Fall of 1951, Oyakawa attended Ohio State University under a swimming scholarship, under Head Coach Mike Peppe, along with 1952 Olympic medalist, and former Honolulu's McKinley High School swimmer Ford Konno. While at Ohio State, Oyakawa won six Big Ten, seven NCAA, and nine NAAU championships. After graduating Ohio State in March, 1956, Oyakawa enrolled in the U.S. Air Force.[2][6][3][4]
Olympics
Oyakawa placed fourth in the 200-meter backstroke at the National AAU Indoor Meet. But on July 5, 1952 at the more significant Olympics trials in New York, he swam an Olympic record time of 1:05.7 in the 100-meter backstroke finals, bettering the old record by .2 seconds and finishing ahead of the entire field of American trial competitiors.[8]
Travelling with the U.S. team later in July, he represented the United States at the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki, Finland, where as a strong favorite he won the gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke event, breaking the fifteen-year standing record of American Adolph Kiefer, which had been set in 1936.[9] In a close race, he swam a 1:05.4, finishing .8 seconds ahead of the French team's silver medalist Gilbert Bozon, and 1 second ahead of America's bronze medalist Jack Taylor.[3]
He returned to Olympic competition at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, where he was elected co-captain along with Ford Konno.[10] He finished 8th in the 100-meter backstroke competition.[2]
Coaching
Oyakawa became a teacher and coached swimming at Oak Hills High School from 1960 to 1985.[11] He led Oak Hills to 23 conference championships and was named League Coach of the Year 23 times and Southwest Ohio Swimming Coach of the Year 12 times.[12]
Honors
Yoshinobu Oyakawa Day proclaimed by Big Island County Chairman James Kealoha on September 12, 1952 [13]
