Haruhiro Yamashita

Who is Haruhiro Yamashita?

Haruhiro Yamashita is a Japanese gymnast, who competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics. He won two gold medals for his country in the vault and team combined exercises.

After marriage he changed his last name from Yamashita to Matsuda. In 1961, he graduated from Nippon Sport Science University, where in 1983 he became professor and later professor emeritus. In the early 1970s he was an assistant gymnastics coach under Roger Council at the Indiana State University. There he began his research on biorhythms.

Yamashita also trained the national gymnastics team, at the 1976 Summer Olympics and at the Asian Games in 1990, and held senior positions with the Japan Gymnastics Association.

In 2000 Yamashita was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame. He is an honorary citizen of his native town of Uwajima.