Japanese American Olympic judo coach dies at 104

The man who coached the very first U.S. Olympic team in judo in 1964 has died at the age of 104.

Yoshihiro “Yosh” Uchida of San Jose State is credited with coaching 22 Olympians, with four taking home medals, reports KQED. He remained active until his death and was a common sight watching judo practices at the building named after him on campus and often offering pointers.

“If they weren’t doing something correct, he was out there helping correct them. It was pretty amazing; he was a very remarkable guy,” said Robert Fukuda, the executive director of the U.S. Judo Federation to KQED. “There’ll be a long time before there’s another person like him, I’ll say that.”

Uchida is credited with turning San Jose State into a national powerhouse in judo which has won 40 national titles. He often saw the irony in all of this pointing out “Here I am representing a country that had thrown my parents into internment camps,” he said to the East Bay Times.

His parents encouraged him to take up judo as a way of teaching him a bit about Japanese culture. He enrolled in the engineering program at San Jose State in 1940, attracted to the campus because he heard it had a football team but soon became a student coach in judo.

His college years were interrupted by a call to duty. He served four years in the military working as a medical technician in the states, according to the Japanese American Museum of San Jose.

He is also credited with helping secure $80 million in funding to revitalize San Jose’s Japantown, one of only three remaining in the country.

San Jose State named him to its Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.

“We are incredibly proud and thankful for the impact Yosh not only made on our university, but our nation and the world,” said Cynthia Teniente-Matson, the university’s president to the San Francisco Chronicle. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Uchida family and the many friends, athletes and Spartans who knew Yosh.”