Shohachi Ishii

Shohachi Ishii
Shohachi Ishii in 1956
Personal information
BornSeptember 20, 1926 (1926-09-20)
Tokyo, Japan
DiedJanuary 4, 1980 (1980-01-05) (aged 53)
Alma materChuo University
Sport
SportFreestyle wrestling
Medal record
Men's freestyle wrestling
Representing  Japan
Olympic Games
1952 HelsinkiBantamweight

Shohachi Ishii (石井 庄八, Ishii Shōhachi, September 20, 1926 – January 4, 1980) was a Japanese freestyle wrestler who won a gold medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics. He was the first Japanese gold medalist after World War II, the only Japanese gold medalist at the 1952 Olympics, and one of two Japanese medalists in wrestling at the 1952 Olympics, the other being flyweight Yushu Kitano, who won silver in freestyle.

Ishii took up wrestling because there was no judo club around. He died of kidney cancer, aged 53.