Akira Kuroiwa

One of the first great Japanese sprinters on skates, Akira Kuroiwa became the first (and, as of 2009, the only) Japanese to win the World Sprint Championships. Kuroiwa took the title twice, in 1983 and 1987. He had hoped to become the first Japanese speed skater to medal at the Olympics, but that honor went to the unheralded Yoshihiro Kitazawa. Four years later in Calgary, Kuroiwa would win an Olympic medal, finishing third in the 500 m. Kuroiwa also won the 500 m at the 1986 Asian Winter Games, won six World Cup races and took four Japanese sprint titles (1981, 1983, 1984 and 1986). Following his retirement after the Calgary Games, Kuroiwa has been active as a coach. In 1988 and 1992, three other Japanese skaters named Kuroiwa competed in the Olympics. Of them, only Munehisa, his brother, is related. The other two are from the same town as Akira, Tsumagoi, where Kuroiwa is the most common surname.

Personal Bests: 500 – 36.75 (1988); 1000 – 1:14.27 (1987); 1500 – 2:00.85 (1981); 5000 – 8:01.23 (1979).