Hiromasa Tanaka (Japanese: 田中宏昌; born 28 September 1981) is a Japanese decathlete. He won five straight national decathlon titles from 2004 to 2008 and was the gold medallist in the event at the 2009 Asian Athletics Championships. He also represented Japan at the 2007 World Championships.
Hailing from Ōbatake, Yamaguchi, Tanaka established himself domestically with back-to-back decathlon wins at the Japanese Athletics Championships in 2004 and 2005.Hiromasa Tanaka. Japanese Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved 2011-05-07. On his first international appearance, he won the bronze medal at the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships, finishing behind Pavel Andreev and Kim Kun-Woo.Asian Championships, Final Day. IAAF (1 September 2005). Retrieved 2011-05-07. He took a third consecutive national title in 2006, a winning streak that would continue until 2009 when he was beaten by Daisuke Ikeda.Nakamura, Ken (29 June 2009). Sprinters excel at the Japanese Champs. IAAF. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
At the 2006 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships he missed out on a medal in the indoor heptathlon, although he achieved 5340 points in his first major outing in the event. He scored a personal best total of 7803 points for decathlon in Kanazawa in June 2006,Tanaka, Hiromasa. IAAF. Retrieved 2011-05-07. but at his first Asian Games that year he was far off this form and, after he failed to produce a mark in the pole vault, he finished in tenth place.2006 Asian Games . Tilastopaja. Retrieved 2011-05-07. As the reigning national champion, Tanaka gained selection for the 2007 World Championships in Athletics, held in Osaka, and he finished in 19th place overall.Butcher, Pat (1 September 2007). looking to Women's Marathon for final medal hope. IAAF. Retrieved 2011-05-07.
Tanaka won his first indoor medal at the 2008 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships, taking the bronze at the event in Doha.2008 Asian Indoor Championships. Tilastopaja. Retrieved 2011-05-07. In the absence of Dmitriy Karpov and the defending champion Ahmed Hassan Moussa, he won the 2009 Asian Athletics Championships.With five wins, Japan halts Chinese momentum in Guangzhou - Asian champs, day 4. IAAF (14 November 2009). Retrieved 2011-05-07. He missed the 2010 Asian Games.
References
External links
Profile at JAAF