Shohachi Ishii

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