Masao Takemoto (竹本正男, Takemoto Masao, September 29, 1919 – February 2, 2007) was a Japanese artistic gymnast who won two world titles and seven Olympic medals.[1]
At the 1952 Summer Olympics he won the silver medal in the vault with a score of 19.150, which was 0.050 short of the gold medal.[1] Two years later he became world champion in the floor exercise, sharing the first placed with Valentin Muratov; he also won a silver medal with the Japanese team and a bronze at the parallel bars.[2] At the 1956 Summer Olympics Takemoto won three bronze medals: in the horizontal bar, parallel bars and rings; he also received a silver medal as part of the Japanese team.[1] His main skills were on the floor exercise and he proved it once again at the 1958 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, where he successfully defended his title; he also won silver medals in the vault and team event, as well as a bronze medal in the horizontal bar.[2] At the 1960 Summer Olympics Takemoto won a team gold medal and placed second in the horizontal bar.[1]
Takemoto had a degree in physical education from Nippon Sport Science University and later coached the national gymnastics team. In 1997 he was inducted into the International Gymnastics Hall of Fame.[1][2] He died from cholangiocarcinoma on 2 February 2007 at the age of 87 in Kanagawa.[3]
