IWF120y/20 – 1960: Miyake, a dynasty of success in Japan!

When thinking about weightlifting in Japan, a name is immediately mentioned: Miyake. From 1960 to the present day, members of this family have marked the history of the sport in the country and on the international scene. It all started 65 years ago, at the Rome Olympic Games, when Yoshinobu Miyake gets a silver medal in the 56kg category. He would do better in 1964, at home, with the Olympic title in the 60kg, and would revalidate his title four years later, in Mexico City. He remains the only Olympic champion in weightlifting as of today. But the connection of the Miyake family to the sport would not stop there: Yoshinobu’s brother, Yoshiyuki (six years younger), also travelled to Mexico in that year of 1968 and could celebrate a bronze medal in the same event as his sibling. Between the two brothers, there were also six World Championships titles, between 1962 and 1971. Yoshiyuki has a daughter, born in 1985, Hiromi (photo). Following the steps of her uncle and father, the young talent starts to get noticed at the 2006 IWF World Championships, where she gets the bronze medal in the 48kg category. Two years earlier, she has her first Olympic participation, in Athens, where she is ninth. She will compete in four more editions – with two podium presences, silver in London 2012 and bronze in Rio 2016. In Tokyo 2020ne she bombs out in the Clean & Jerk, in what is her last competition. Hiromi Miyake is presently a member of the IWF Executive Board.