Amsterdam 1928. Games of the IX Olympiad. Athletics, triple jump: Gold medallist Mikio ODA of Japan in action. Credit: IOC Olympic Museum Collections

Born: 30 March 1905

Birthplace: Hiroshima

Nationality: Japan

Sport: Athletics

ATTENDANCE AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES

Paris 1924

Amsterdam 1928

Los Angeles 1932

AWARDS

Olympic medals:

Gold: 1

First Asian Individual Champion

Mikio Oda of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan placed sixth in the triple jump at the 1924 Olympics in Paris. Four years later, at the Amsterdam Olympics, Oda edged Levi Casey of the United States by four centimetres to win the gold medal and become Asia's first Olympic champion in an individual event. He also competed in the long jump in both 1924 and 1928, and in 1928 he even placed seventh in the high jump. In 1931, while still a student at Waseda University, Oda triple-jumped 15.58 metres to set a world record. When the Olympics were held in Tokyo in 1964, the Olympic flag was raised to a height of 15.21 metres to honour Oda's winning Olympic jump of 36 years earlier. Oda died 2 December 1998 at the age of 93. In 2000, a panel of track and field experts voted Oda the Male Asian Athlete of the Century.