Wataru Tanigawa (谷川航, Tanigawa Wataru, born 23 July 1996) is a Japanese artistic gymnast. He won a gold medal with the Japanese team at the 2024 Summer Olympics and a silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics. At the 2022 World Championships, he won a silver medal in the team event and a bronze medal in the all-around. He also won team bronze medals at the 2018 and 2019 World Championships. He is also the 2022 Asian Games vault champion and a two-time World University Games champion.

Wataru Tanigawa
谷川航
Country represented Japan
Born (1996-07-23) 23 July 1996 (age 28)
Funabashi, Japan
Height1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)[1]
DisciplineMen's artistic gymnastics
ClubCentral Sports
Head coach(es)Yoshihiro Saito, Hisashi Mizutori
Medal record
Men's artistic gymnastics
Representing  Japan
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris Team
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo Team
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2022 Liverpool Team
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Doha Team
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Stuttgart Team
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Liverpool All-around
Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2022 Hangzhou Vault
Silver medal – second place 2022 Hangzhou Team
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Hangzhou Rings
World University Games
Gold medal – first place 2017 Taipei Team
Gold medal – first place 2019 Naples Team
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Taipei All-around
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Taipei Floor exercise
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Taipei Parallel bars
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Taipei Horizontal bar
FIG World Cup
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
All-Around World Cup 0 2 0
Apparatus World Cup 0 0 1
World Challenge Cup 0 2 1
Total 0 4 2

Early and personal life

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Tanigawa started gymnastics at age six at Kenshin Sports Club in Funabashi, Japan. His younger brother, Kakeru, also represents Japan at international gymnastics competitions. He studied sports science at Juntendo University in Tokyo.[1][2]

Career

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Tanigawa won a silver medal on the vault at the 2015 Osijek World Challenge Cup behind Ukraine's Igor Radivilov.[3] Then at the 2016 Anadia World Challenge Cup, Tanigawa won a silver medal on the floor exercise behind Alexander Shatilov and the bronze medal on the vault.[4]

2017

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Tanigawa won a bronze medal on the vault at the Melbourne World Cup behind Kenzō Shirai and Christopher Remkes.[5] There, he also placed fourth on the floor exercise, losing the execution score tiebreaker for the bronze medal to Ferhat Arıcan.[6] At the Summer Universiade in Taipei, he won the gold medal in the team event. He also won the bronze medals in four individual events: the all-around,[7] floor exercise, parallel bars and horizontal bar.[8]

Tanigawa competed at the World Championships in Montreal but did not advance to any finals. He was the second reserve for the parallel bars final.[9] After the World Championships, he competed at the Arthur Gander Memorial, finishing sixth in the all-around.[10] He competed at the Swiss Cup, a mixed pairs event, alongside Hitomi Hatakeda, and they won the silver medal behind Switzerland.[11] He then competed at the Toyota International and won a gold medal on the parallel bars, a silver medal on the floor exercise, and a bronze medal on the still rings.[12]

2018

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Tanigawa won a silver medal in the all-around at the Tokyo World Cup behind teammate Kenzō Shirai.[13] Then at the All-Japan Championships, he finished seventh in the all-around.[14] He then placed fifth in the all-around at the NHK Trophy.[15] At the All-Japan Event Championships, he won a silver medal on the floor exercise.[16]

Tanigawa was selected to compete at the 2018 World Championships alongside Kazuma Kaya, Kenzō Shirai, Yūsuke Tanaka, and Kōhei Uchimura, with his brother Kakeru being the team alternate.[17] The team won the bronze medal behind China and Russia after multiple falls including from Tanigawa on the floor exercise.[18] After the World Championships, he competed at the All-Japan Team Championships and won a gold medal with his university team.[19] He also competed at the Toyota International, finishing fourth on the still rings.[20]

2019–20

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At the 2019 Tokyo World Cup, Tanigawa won a silver medal in the all-around behind American Sam Mikulak.[21] Then at the All-Japan Championships, he finished fifth in the all-around.[22] He then won the silver medal at the NHK Trophy, behind his brother Kakeru.[23] Then at the All-Japan Event Championships, he won the gold medal on the parallel bars and the silver medal on the vault.[24] He won the gold medal in the team event at the Summer Universiade in Naples, Italy.[25]

Tanigawa competed at the 2019 World Championships alongside Daiki Hashimoto, Yuya Kamoto, Kazuma Kaya, and Kakeru Tanigawa, and they won the bronze medal behind Russia and China.[26] After the World Championships, he competed at the All-Japan Team Championships, winning a gold medal with his club team.[27] Then at the Toyota International, he won a silver medal on the still rings.[28]

In November 2020, Tanigawa competed at the Friendship and Solidarity Competition in Tokyo, competing as part of Team Solidarity who won over Team Friendship.[29] Then in December, he competed at the All-Japan Championships and tied for the all-around bronze medal with his brother Kakeru.[30]

2021

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Tanigawa won the silver medal in the all-around at the All-Japan Championships behind Daiki Hashimoto.[31] He then won the all-around bronze medal at the NHK Trophy.[32] At the 2020 Summer Olympics, held in 2021 in Tokyo, he competed for Japan, on a team including Hashimoto, Kazuma Kaya, and Takeru Kitazono. The team won the silver medal with a total score of 262.397, 0.103 points behind the Russian Olympic Committee.[33][34] After the Olympics, he competed at the All-Japan Senior Championships and won a silver medal on the vault.[35] Then at the All-Japan Team Championships, he won a bronze medal with his club team.[36]

2022

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Tanigawa finished seventh in the all-around at the All-Japan Championships.[37] He then finished eighth in the all-around at the NHK Trophy.[38] At the All-Japan Event Championships, he finished fourth on the horizontal bar and eighth on the parallel bars.[39]

Tanigawa competed at the World Championships alongside Ryosuke Doi, Daiki Hashimoto, Yuya Kamoto, and Kakeru Tanigawa. In the qualification round, the Japanese team qualified for the team final in first place by nearly eight points, and Tanigawa qualified first in the all-around.[40] They then won the silver medal in the team final by four points behind China.[41] In the all-around final, he won the bronze medal behind Hashimoto and Zhang Boheng.[42] He also qualified for the vault final, finishing in seventh place.[43] After the World Championships, he competed at the All-Japan Team Championships and won a silver medal with his club team.[44]

2023

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Tanigawa finished fourth in the all-around at the All-Japan Championships,[45] and he placed seventh at the NHK Trophy.[46] At the All-Japan Event Championships, he finished eighth on the parallel bars.[47] He then competed at the 2022 Asian Games held in 2023 in Hangzhou, China. The Japanese team won the silver medal behind China,[48] and individually, he won gold on the vault and bronze on the still rings.[49] He then competed at the All-Japan Team Championships, winning a bronze medal with his club team.[50]

2024

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Tanigawa was selected to represent Japan at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, alongside Takaaki Sugino, Shinnosuke Oka, Kazuma Kaya, and Daiki Hashimoto. They won the gold medal in the team final, defeating long-time rival China.[51][52] Individually, he qualified for the parallel bars final in eighth place, and he finished sixth in the final with a score of 14.133.[53]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Artistic Gymnastics Tanigawa Wataru". Tokyo 2020. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 26 July 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  2. ^ "Tanigawa Wataru – FIG Athlete Profile". International Gymnastics Federation. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  3. ^ "Results for World Challenge Cup 2015 Osijek (CRO)". International Gymnastics Federation. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  4. ^ "Chinese, Saraiva shine at Anadia World Challenge Cup". International Gymnastics Federation. 27 June 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  5. ^ "With numerous golds apiece, China, Kenzo Shirai show strength at Melbourne World Cup". International Gymnastics Federation. 25 February 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  6. ^ "Results for FIG World Cup 2017 Melbourne (AUS)". International Gymnastics Federation. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  7. ^ Pavitt, Michael (22 August 2017). "Olympic silver medallist Verniaiev defends individual all-around title at Taipei 2017". Inside the Games. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  8. ^ Pavitt, Michael (23 August 2017). "Ten gymnasts claim gold medals as artistic competition concludes at Taipei 2017". Inside The Games. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  9. ^ "47th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships 2017 Montréal (CAN) Men's Qualification" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  10. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (1 November 2017). "2017 Arthur Gander Memorial Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  11. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (7 November 2017). "2017 Swiss Cup Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  12. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (10 December 2017). "2017 Toyota International Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Home golds for Murakami and Shirai as All-Around World Cup concludes in Tokyo". International Gymnastics Federation. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  14. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (2 May 2018). "2018 All-Japan Championships Men's Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  15. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (22 May 2018). "2018 NHK Trophy Men's Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  16. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (11 July 2018). "2018 All-Japan Event Championships Men's Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  17. ^ "World and Olympic champions return for Doha Gymnastics World Championships". International Gymnastics Federation. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  18. ^ "Chinese men top Russia, Japan at Doha Worlds". International Gymnastics Federation. 29 October 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  19. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (28 November 2018). "2018 All-Japan Team Championships Men's Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  20. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (8 December 2018). "2018 Toyota International Men's Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  21. ^ "Hurd, Mikulak take two titles in Tokyo for USA". International Gymnastics Federation. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  22. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (11 May 2019). "2019 All-Japan Championships Men's Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  23. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (22 May 2019). "2019 NHK Trophy Men's Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  24. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (25 June 2019). "2019 All-Japan Event Championships Men's Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  25. ^ O'Kane, Patrick (4 July 2019). "China dominate diving podiums as Neapolitan energy drives Italian medal haul". Inside The Games. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  26. ^ "Russian men claim first world team title at Stuttgart Worlds". International Gymnastics Federation. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  27. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (12 November 2019). "2019 All-Japan Team Championships Men's Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  28. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (16 December 2019). "2019 Toyota International Men's Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  29. ^ "It's Solidarity over Friendship at one-of-a-kind FIG competition in Tokyo". International Gymnastics Federation. 9 November 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  30. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (13 December 2020). "2020 All-Japan Championships Men's Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  31. ^ "Daiki Hashimoto wins maiden national title to lead race for Olympics". The Japan Times. 18 April 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
  32. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (17 May 2021). "2021 NHK Trophy Men's Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  33. ^ "Artistic Gymnastics – Final Results". Tokyo 2020. International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 2021-07-25. Retrieved 2021-07-27.
  34. ^ "ROC upsets host Japan for men's Olympic team title". International Gymnastics Federation. 26 July 2021. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  35. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (28 September 2021). "2021 All-Japan Senior Championships Men's Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  36. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (15 December 2021). "2021 All-Japan Team Championships Men's Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  37. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (24 April 2024). "2022 All-Japan Championships Men's Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  38. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (16 May 2022). "2022 NHK Trophy Men's Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  39. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (20 June 2022). "2022 All-Japan Event Championships Men's Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  40. ^ "Tanigawa Wataru and Japan lead the way at Liverpool Artistic Gymnastics Worlds". International Gymnastics Federation. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  41. ^ "In outrageous about-face, Chinese men clinch World team title". International Gymnastics Federation. 2 November 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  42. ^ "After epic battle, Hashimoto emerges as new World All-Around champion". International Gymnastics Federation. 5 November 2022. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  43. ^ "51st FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Liverpool (GBR), 29 October – 6 November 2022 Men's Vault Final" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. International Gymnastics Federation. 6 November 2022. p. 4. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  44. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (13 December 2022). "2022 All-Japan Team Championships Men's Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  45. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (25 April 2023). "2023 All-Japan Championships Men's Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  46. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (21 May 2023). "2023 NHK Trophy Men's Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  47. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (11 June 2023). "2023 All-Japan Event Championships Men's Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  48. ^ "China easily wins both men's and women's team titles at Asian Games". International Gymnast Magazine. 26 September 2023. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
  49. ^ "Asian Games conclude with China taking home four more individual gold medals". International Gymnast Magazine. 30 September 2023. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  50. ^ Hopkins, Lauren (29 November 2023). "2023 All-Japan Team Championships Men's Results". The Gymternet. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  51. ^ Hiroki, Noda (29 July 2024). "Olympics: Japan edges China to win gymnastics team gold in Paris". Kyodo News. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  52. ^ "Dramatic finish sweeps Japanese men to Paris 2024 Olympic team title". International Gymnastics Federation. 29 July 2024. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  53. ^ "体操 男子種目別 平行棒 岡慎之助が銅メダル パリ五輪" [Gymnastics: Men's parallel bars: Shinnosuke Oka wins bronze medal at the Paris Olympics]. NHK (in Japanese). 5 August 2024. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
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