Kazuyoshi Oimatsu

was a Japanese figure skater who competed in men's singles and a coach. He was the Japanese champion in 1931 and represented Japan at both the 1932 Winter Olympics and the 1936 Winter Olympics.

Early life Oimatsu was born on 30 October 1911, in what is now Tonami, Toyama and raised in Osaka after being adopted by a family named Nakamura. His hobbies included photography, art, classical music appreciation, and particularly, writing haiku. He died at age 89 on 24 March 2001.

Career Oimatsu first ice skated in the second grade of middle school after a friend invited him to go to a rink for fun. At the time, there were very few resources for figure skaters in Japan, and Oimatsu taught himself from a book written by the Russian skater Nikolai Panin. They used wooden skates based on geta.

He competed in the first edition of the Japan Figure Skating Championships in 1930 with only about one year of experience. The next year, he won the national title. Joel B Liberman, writing for Skating magazine, praised him and the other Japanese skaters for showing very good balance in their spins. While they were in New York for the Olympics, he and Ryuichi Obitani took lessons from Willy Böckl. In 1936, he again competed abroad; he placed 15th at the European Championships, 20th at his second Winter Olympics, and then 15th two weeks later at the World Championships. After he recovered, he turned professional and three years later, he began coaching at the Sports Center ice rink at the recommendation of the Osaka Skating Federation. He particularly enjoyed teaching children from the beginning and seeing their skills develop.

Competitive highlights Event 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 Winter Olympics 9th 20th World Championships 7th 15th European Championships 9th Japanese Championships 5th 1st 2nd 3rd