Akito Watabe

Akito Watabe
	Watabe in 2018
Personal information
Nationality	Japan
Born	26 May 1988; Hakuba, Japan
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Sport
Sport	Skiing
Club	Kitano Construction Corp.Ski Club
World Cup career
Seasons	2005–2026
Indiv. starts	303
Indiv. podiums	74
Indiv. wins	19
Overall titles	1 (2018)
Medal record
Men's Nordic combined
Representing Japan
Olympic Games
World Championships

Akito Watabe (渡部暁斗, Watabe Akito; born 26 May 1988) is a Japanese retired Nordic combined skier. He won a gold medal in the 4 × 5 km team event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec.

Career

Competing in six Winter Olympics, Watabe won four olympic medals: two silvers and two bronzes.

During the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, Akito Watabe took home the silver medal in the Nordic Combined Individual Gundersen NH / 10 km, Cross-Country event.^[1]

In the 2018 Olympics, Watabe won the silver medal in the normal hill/10 km Nordic combined competition.

In the 2022 Olympics, Akito Watabe won two bronze medals in the large hill/10 km and Team large hill Nordic combined competition.

He has the record of most starts in the history of the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup, 303.

Personal life

His wife, Yurie Watabe, is a Japanese freestyle skier, who specialises in halfpipe.^[2] Akito's younger brother, Yoshito also competes in Nordic Combined World Cup.

World Cup wins

Season	Date	Location	Hill
2011–12	5 February 2012	Val di Fiemme	HS134/10 km
	18 February 2012	Klingenthal	HS140/10 km
	26 February 2012	Liberec	HS134/10 km
	9 March 2012	Oslo	HS106/10 km
2013–14	15 March 2014	Falun	HS134/10 km
2014–15	6 March 2015	Lahti	HS130/10 km
2014–15	14 March 2015	Oslo	HS104/15 km
2016–17	11 February 2017	Sapporo	HS134/10 km
2016–17	11 March 2017	Oslo	HS104/10 km
2017–18	25 November 2017	Ruka	HS142/10 km
	26 January 2018	Seefeld	HS109/5 km
	27 January 2018	Seefeld	HS109/10 km
	28 January 2018	Seefeld	HS109/15 km
	3 February 2018	Hakuba	HS134/10 km
	10 March 2018	Oslo	HS104/10 km
	24 March 2018	Schonach	HS106/10 km
	25 March 2018	Schonach	HS106/15 km
2019–20	1 March 2020	Lahti	HS130/10 km
2020–21	24 January 2021	Lahti	HS130/10 km

References

↑ Suskin, Jeremy Akito Watabe Brings Home First Olympic Medal in 20 Years for Nordic Skiing Event Archived 2018-10-29 at the Wayback Machine 2 December 2014
↑ "Who is Akito Watabe?". nbcolympics.org. Archived from the original on 21 February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.

External links

Akito Watabe at FIS (Nordic combined)

Akito Watabe at Olympics.com

Akito Watabe at Olympedia

Akito Watabe at InterSportStats
Akito Watabe at Team Japan (in Japanese) (in English)
Akito Watabe at Milano Cortina 2026
Akito Watabe on Instagram

[1] Suskin, Jeremy Akito Watabe Brings Home First Olympic Medal in 20 Years for Nordic Skiing Event Archived 2018-10-29 at the Wayback Machine 2 December 2014

[2] "Who is Akito Watabe?". nbcolympics.org. Archived from the original on 21 February 2018. Retrieved 20 February 2018.

[1]

[2]

Holmenkollen Medal
Until 1900	1895: Viktor Thorn (NOR) 1897: Asbjørn Nilssen (NOR) 1899: Paul Braaten (NOR), Robert Pehrson (NOR)
1900–1950	1901: Aksel Refstad (NOR) 1903: Karl Hovelsen (NOR) 1904: Harald Smith (NOR) 1905: Jonas Holmen (NOR) 1907: Per Bakken (NOR) 1908: Einar Kristiansen (NOR) 1909: Thorvald Hansen 1910: Lauritz Bergendahl 1911: Otto Tangen (NOR), Knut Holst (NOR) 1912: Olav Bjaaland (NOR) 1914: Johan Kristoffersen (NOR) 1915: Sverre Østbye (NOR) 1916: Lars Høgvold (NOR) 1918: Hassa Horn (NOR), Jørgen Hansen (NOR) 1919: Thorleif Haug (NOR), Otto Aasen (NOR) 1923: Thoralf Strømstad (NOR) 1924: Harald Økern (NOR), Johan Grøttumsbråten (NOR) 1925: Einar Landvik (NOR) 1926: Jacob Tullin Thams 1927: Hagbart Haakonsen (NOR), Einar Lindboe (NOR) 1928: Torjus Hemmestveit (NOR), Mikkjel Hemmestveit (NOR) 1931: Hans Vinjarengen (NOR), Ole Stenen (NOR) 1934: Oddbjørn Hagen (NOR) 1935: Arne Rustadstuen (NOR) 1937: Olaf Hoffsbakken (NOR), Birger Ruud (NOR), Martin P. Vangsli (NOR) 1938: Reidar Andersen (NOR), Johan R. Henriksen (NOR) 1939: Sven Selånger (SWE), Lars Bergendahl (NOR), Trygve Brodahl (NOR) 1940: Oscar Gjøslien (NOR), Annar Ryen (NOR) 1947: Elling Rønes (NOR) 1948: Asbjørn Ruud (NOR) 1949: Sigmund Ruud (NOR) 1950: Olav Økern (NOR)
1951–2000	1951: Simon Slåttvik (NOR) 1952: Stein Eriksen (NOR), Torbjørn Falkanger (NOR), Heikki Hasu (FIN), Nils Karlsson (SWE) 1953: Magnar Estenstad (NOR) 1954: Martin Stokken (NOR) 1955: Haakon VII (NOR), Hallgeir Brenden (NOR), Veikko Hakulinen (FIN), Sverre Stenersen (NOR) 1956: Borghild Niskin (NOR), Arnfinn Bergmann (NOR), Arne Hoel (NOR) 1957: Eero Kolehmainen (FIN) 1958: Inger Bjørnbakken (NOR), Håkon Brusveen (NOR) 1959: Gunder Gundersen (NOR) 1960: Helmut Recknagel (GDR), Sixten Jernberg (SWE), Sverre Stensheim (NOR), Tormod Knutsen (NOR) 1961: Harald Grønningen (NOR) 1962: Toralf Engan (NOR) 1963: Alevtina Kolchina (URS), Pavel Kolchin (URS), Astrid Sandvik (NOR), Torbjørn Yggeseth (NOR) 1964: Veikko Kankkonen (FIN), Eero Mäntyranta (FIN), Georg Thoma (FRG), Halvor Næs (NOR) 1965: Arto Tiainen (FIN), Bengt Eriksson (SWE), Arne Larsen (NOR) 1967: Toini Gustafsson (SWE), Ole Ellefsæter (NOR) 1968: Olav V (NOR), Assar Rönnlund (SWE), Gjermund Eggen (NOR), Bjørn Wirkola (NOR) 1969: Odd Martinsen (NOR) 1970: Pål Tyldum (NOR) 1971: Marjatta Kajosmaa (FIN), Berit Mørdre (NOR), Reidar Hjermstad (NOR) 1972: Rauno Miettinen (FIN), Magne Myrmo (NOR) 1973: Einar Bergsland (NOR), Ingolf Mork (NOR), Franz Keller (FRG) 1974: Juha Mieto (FIN) 1975: Gerhard Grimmer (GDR), Oddvar Brå (NOR), Ivar Formo (NOR) 1976: Ulrich Wehling (GDR) 1977: Helena Takalo (FIN), Hilkka Kuntola (FIN), Walter Steiner (SUI) 1979: Ingemar Stenmark (SWE), Erik Håker (NOR), Raisa Smetanina (URS) 1980: Thomas Wassberg (SWE) 1981: Johan Sætre (NOR) 1983: Berit Aunli (NOR), Tom Sandberg (NOR) 1984: Lars Erik Eriksen (NOR), Jakob Vaage (NOR), Armin Kogler (AUT) 1985: Anette Bøe (NOR), Per Bergerud (NOR), Gunde Svan (SWE) 1986: Brit Pettersen (NOR) 1987: Matti Nykänen (FIN), Hermann Weinbuch (FRG) 1989: Marja-Liisa Kirvesniemi (FIN) 1991: Vegard Ulvang (NOR), Trond Einar Elden (NOR), Ernst Vettori (AUT), Jens Weißflog (GER) 1992: Yelena Välbe (RUS) 1993: Emil Kvanlid (NOR) 1994: Lyubov Yegorova (RUS), Vladimir Smirnov (KAZ), Espen Bredesen (NOR) 1995: Kenji Ogiwara (JPN) 1996: Manuela Di Centa (ITA) 1997: Bjarte Engen Vik (NOR), Stefania Belmondo (ITA), Bjørn Dæhlie (NOR) 1998: Fred Børre Lundberg (NOR), Larisa Lazutina (RUS), Alexey Prokurorov (RUS), Harri Kirvesniemi (FIN) 1999: Kazuyoshi Funaki (JPN)
Since 2001	2001: Adam Małysz (POL), Bente Skari (NOR), Thomas Alsgaard (NOR) 2003: Felix Gottwald (AUT), Ronny Ackermann (GER) 2004: Yuliya Chepalova (RUS) 2005: Andrus Veerpalu (EST) 2007: Frode Estil (NOR), Odd-Bjørn Hjelmeset (NOR), Harald V (NOR), Sonja (NOR), Simon Ammann (SUI) 2010: Marit Bjørgen (NOR) 2011: Ole Einar Bjørndalen (NOR), Michael Greis (GER), Andrea Henkel (GER), Janne Ahonen (FIN) 2012: Magdalena Neuner (GER), Emil Hegle Svendsen (NOR) 2013: Tora Berger (NOR), Martin Fourcade (FRA), Therese Johaug (NOR), Gregor Schlierenzauer (AUT) 2014: Magnus Moan (NOR), Eric Frenzel (GER), Thomas Morgenstern (AUT), Darya Domracheva (BLR) 2015: Eldar Rønning (NOR), Anders Bardal (NOR), Anette Sagen (NOR), Kamil Stoch (POL) 2016: Noriaki Kasai (JPN), Tarjei Bø (NOR) 2017: Marie Dorin Habert (FRA), Sara Takanashi (JPN) 2018: Charlotte Kalla (SWE), Princess Astrid (NOR), Hannu Manninen (FIN), Kaisa Mäkäräinen (FIN) 2021: Maren Lundby (NOR), Johannes Thingnes Bø (NOR), Dario Cologna (SUI), Johannes Rydzek (GER) 2022: Tiril Eckhoff (NOR), Marte Olsbu Røiseland (NOR), Johannes Høsflot Klæbo (NOR), Jørgen Graabak (NOR) 2023: Maiken Caspersen Falla (NOR), Stefan Kraft (AUT) 2024: Jessie Diggins (USA), Simen Hegstad Krüger (NOR), Jarl Magnus Riiber (NOR) 2025: Iivo Niskanen (FIN), Peter Prevc (SLO), Akito Watabe (JPN), Dorothea Wierer (ITA), Quentin Fillon Maillet (FRA) 2026: Heidi Weng (NOR), Ebba Andersson (SWE), Federico Pellegrino (ITA), Ryōyū Kobayashi (JPN), Nils-Erik Ulset (NOR), Franziska Preuß (GER)