Seiko Yamamoto

Seiko Yamamoto ( Japanese 山 本 聖 子 , Yamamoto Seiko ; born August 22, 1980 in Yokohama , Kanagawa Prefecture ) is a Japanese wrestler . She became world champion in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003 in the weight classes up to 51 kg, 56 kg and 59 kg body weight, respectively.

Career

Seiko Yamamoto started wrestling at the age of five in 1985. She comes from a family of wrestlers and her first coach was also her father, Ikuei Yamamoto. She attended Nihon University and is a member of the university's wrestling team (English Nihon University Wrestling Club ). In the national team she was coached by Hideaki Tomiyama and Kazuhito Sakae.

Seiko Yamamoto achieved her first international success in 1997. She was then active on the international wrestling mat until 2006. In 2006 she resigned from the international mat scene and married the Japanese national handball player Hideaki Nagashima. It has been called Seiko Nagashima ever since. In 2007 she became the mother of a son. Since 2006, she has worked as a commentator at wrestling competitions for various Japanese television companies. In 2008 she also reported on wrestling from the Summer Olympics in Beijing . She was so caught up in the action on the wrestling mat that she made a comeback and has been wrestling actively since then.

In 1997 Seiko Yamamoto became the Asian champion in Taipai in the weight class up to 51 kg. That was the beginning of her international career. In 1999 and 2000 she was in Bucharest and in Nantes Junior World Champion in the weight class up to 54 kg. In 1999 she became Japanese champion for the first time and started at the women's world championship in Hildursborg / Sweden in the weight class up to 51 kg. There she won her first world title with five wins in a superior style. In the decisive battles, she defeated Gao Yanzhi from China and Erica Sharp from Canada .

In 2000 she was again title holder at the World Championships in Sofia , but this time in the weight class up to 56 kg. In the final, she defeated Tetjana Lasarewa from Ukraine. In 2001 she won her third title at the World Cup , which was again held in Sofia. With Erin Tomeo , USA , Sun Dongmei , China, Konstantina Katerina Tsibanakou , Greece , Lee Na-lae , South Korea and Lyubow Michailowna Wolossowa , Russia , she had to defeat five tough opponents.

In 2002 the international wrestling federation carried out a weight class reform. The weight class up to 56 kg was replaced by a body weight of up to 55 kg. In this weight class, Seiko Yamamoto had grown into an invincible competitor in Saori Yoshida , Japan, who also represented Japan in this weight class at the 2002 World Championships. Seiko Yamamoto was 2002 Edmonton University World Champion in the weight class up to 55 kg.

2003 Seiko Yamamoto lost in the final of the Japanese championship in the weight class up to 55 kg against Saori Yoshida. It was then used at the World Championships that year in New York in the weight class up to 59 kg and won the world title for the fourth time in this weight class. In the decisive battles she defeated Marianna Sastin from Hungary and Natalja Iwaschko from Russia. In 2004 wrestling competitions took place in the weight classes up to 48 kg, 55 kg, 63 kg and 72 kg at the Olympic Games. Seiko Yamamoto did not take part.

The last major success before her retirement came at the 2006 Asian Championships in Alma-Ata . She won there in the weight class up to 59 kg before Su Lihui , China and Su Ying-Tsu from Taiwan .

After her comeback in 2008, she took part in the Japanese championships again in 2009, 2010 and 2011 in the weight class up to 63 kg. In all three championships she was able to win medals with a 3rd, a 2nd and again a 3rd place. But she was not able to defeat the Olympic champion Kaori Icho , who had dominated this weight class for years .

International success

year	space	competition	Weight class	Results
1997	1.	Asian championship in Taipei	up to 51 kg	before Huang Chiu-Yeh, Taiwan and Tsuji Yuka, Japan
1998	6th	Junior World Championships in Fredrikstad / Norway	up to 54 kg	Winner: Olga Smirnowa , Russia, ahead of Konstantina Katerina Tsibanakou, Greece
1999	1.	Junior World Championships in Bucharest	up to 54 kg	before Konstantina Katerina Tsibanakou and Yvonne Hees , Germany
1999	1.	World Cup in Hildursborg / Sweden	up to 51 kg	after victories over Yulianny Orellana, Venezuela , Anna Lise Debiasi, Italy , Annett Kamke, Germany, Gao Yanzhi , China and Erica Sharp , Canada
2000	1.	Junior World Championships in Nantes	up to 54 kg	after victories over Konstantina Katerina Tsibanakou, Catherine Eckfeldt, Canada, Francine de Paola Martinez, France and Aljona Kartaschowa , Russia
2000	1.	World Cup in Sofia	up to 56 kg	before Tetjana Lasarewa , Ukraine , Jennifer Ryz , Canada and Salma Ferchichi, Tunisia
2001	1.	East Asia Games in Osaka	up to 56 kg	ahead of Lee Na-lae, South Korea and Huang Dongmei, China
2001	1.	World Cup in Levallois	up to 56 kg	before Sun Dongmei , China, Jennifer Ryz and Carrie Birge, USA
2001	1.	World Cup in Sofia	up to 56 kg	after victories over Erin Tomeo , USA, Sun Dongmei, Konstantina Katerina Tsibanakou, Lee Na-lae and Lyubow Michailowna Wolossowa , Russia
2002	1.	Universities World Cup in Edmonton	up to 55 kg	before Sun Dongmei, Tonya Verbeek , Canada and Saira Martinez Zaldane, Mexico
2002	1.	World Cup in Cairo	up to 55 kg	before Tetjana Lasarewa, Natalja Karamtschakowa , Russia and Jik Yue, China
2003	1.	Klippan Lady Open	up to 55 kg	before Natalja Golz , Russia, Erica Sharp and Tonya Verbeek
2003	1.	World Cup in New York	up to 59 kg	after victories over Huang Yu-Ning, Taipei, Emily Richarson, Canada, Marianna Sastin , Hungary and Natalja Iwaschkin , Russia
2003	2.	World Cup in Tokyo	up to 59 kg	behind Sally Roberts , USA, in front of Breanne Leigh Graham, Canada and Zhou Zhengyan, China
2003	1.	Asian Cup in Alma Ata	up to 55 kg	before Qiu Hongmei , China and Naidangiin Otgondschargal , Mongolia
2004	1.	World Cup in Tokyo	up to 59 kg	before Su Lihui , China and Emily Richardson
2006	1.	Asian Championship in Alma Ata	up to 59 kg	in front of Su Lihui, Su Ying-Tsu, Taipai and Park Sang-eun , South Korea
2006	3.	World Cup in Nagoya	up to 59 kg	behind Sally Roberts and Breanne Leigh Graham
2010	1.	Golden Grand Prix in Krasnoyarsk	up to 63 kg	before Julija Ostaptschuk , Ukraine, Aljona Kartaschowa and Lyubow Michailowna Wolossowa
2010	3.	Asian Championship in New Delhi	up to 63 kg	behind Park Sang-eun and Cui Haili, China
2011	2.	Sunkist-Kids-Intern.-Open in Phoenix (Arizona)	up to 63 kg	behind Danielle Lappage , Canada, ahead of Kristie Marano (Davis), USA

Japanese championships

year	space	Weight class	Results
1999	1.	up to 51 kg
2000	1.	up to 56 kg
2001	1.	up to 56 kg
2003	2.	up to 55 kg	behind Saori Yoshida
2005	1.	up to 59 kg	before Ayako Shōda , Mio Nishimaki and Rena Iwama
2009	3.	up to 63 kg	behind Kaori Icho and Mio Nishimaki
2010	2.	up to 63 kg	behind Kaori Ichō, in front of Rio Watari and Kayoko Kudō
2011	3.	up to 63 kg	behind Kaori Icho and Rio Watari, in front of Kayoko Kudo

Explanations

• all free style competitions
• WM = World Championship

swell

• Trade journal Der Ringer
• Foeldeak Wrestling Database website
• Website "www.japan-wrestling.org"

Web links

• Official website "Team Seiko" (Japanese)