Masaji Tabata
Involvement in sports
Involvement in sports
---------------------

Tabata devoted his life to [swimming](/wiki/Swimming_%28sport%29 "Swimming (sport)"). At the [1932 Los Angeles Olympics](/wiki/1932_Los_Angeles_Olympics "1932 Los Angeles Olympics"), he served as the head coach of Japan's swimming team, which won twelve medals, including five golds.

Tabata became the president of [Japan Swimming Federation](/wiki/Japan_Swimming_Federation "Japan Swimming Federation") after [World War II](/wiki/World_War_II "World War II"). Japan was excluded from international sporting events at the time and Tabata worked for his country's early return to world stage. He organized a national swimming championship to coincide with the [1948 London Olympics](/wiki/1948_London_Olympics "1948 London Olympics") to show off Japanese swimmers' abilities. Competitors including [Hironoshin Furuhashi](/wiki/Hironoshin_Furuhashi "Hironoshin Furuhashi") and [Shiro Hashizume](/wiki/Shiro_Hashizume "Shiro Hashizume") finished faster than the gold medalists in London, but their records were not recognized worldwide because Japan was not a member of the [International Swimming Federation](/wiki/International_Swimming_Federation "International Swimming Federation"). Their membership was accepted a year later.

Tabata served as the chef demission for Japan's delegation at the [Helsinki Olympics](/wiki/1952_Summer_Olympics "1952 Summer Olympics") in 1952 when his country's participation was accepted for the first time since the war. He held the same position in [Melbourne](/wiki/Melbourne_Olympic_Games "Melbourne Olympic Games") four years later.

After Tokyo won the bid to host the 1964 Olympics, Tabata was appointed the head of the Games' organizing committee and lobbied for making women's volleyball an Olympic event.Japan's women team won gold in the Tokyo Olympics, beating the USSR in the final. He was forced to resign before the Games due to a dispute over Japan's participation in the [1962 Asian Games](/wiki/4th_Asian_Games "4th Asian Games"). [Indonesia](/wiki/Indonesia "Indonesia"), which hosted the event, refused to issue visas for athletes from [Israel](/wiki/Israel "Israel") and [Taiwan](/wiki/Taiwan "Taiwan"), and became at odds with the [International Olympic Committee](/wiki/International_Olympic_Committee "International Olympic Committee").

After the Tokyo Olympics, Tabata took part in the foundation of Tokyo Swimming Center, which later produced Olympic medalists including [Kosuke Kitajima](/wiki/Kosuke_Kitajima "Kosuke Kitajima"), [Reiko Nakamura](/wiki/Reiko_Nakamura "Reiko Nakamura"), and [Haruka Ueda](/wiki/Haruka_Ueda "Haruka Ueda").

Tabata was involved in Japan's successful bid to host the [1972 Winter Olympics](/wiki/1972_Winter_Olympics "1972 Winter Olympics") and became [JOC](/wiki/Japanese_Olympic_Committee "Japanese Olympic Committee") president in 1973\.

Tabata died in 1984\. He was 85\.


What event did Japan's women team win gold in at the Tokyo Olympics?