{{Short description|Japanese high jumper (born 1991)}} {{Infobox sportsperson | image= 2019-09-01 ISTAF 2019 High jump (Martin Rulsch) 045.jpg | image_size= | caption= | birth_date= {{birth date and age|1991|2|5|df=y}} | birth_place= | height={{height|m=1.83}} | weight={{cvt|67|kg}} | country= {{JPN}} | sport =Track and field | event=High jump | medaltemplates = {{Medal|Competition|Asian Athletics Championships}} {{Medal|Gold |2015 Wuhan|High jump}} {{Medal|Silver|2019 Doha|High jump}} }}
'''Takashi Etō''' ({{langx|ja|衛藤 昂}}; born 5 February 1991) is a Japanese track and field athlete who competes in the high jump. His personal best is {{T&Fcalc|2.30}}, set in 2014. He won the gold medal in the event at the Asian Athletics Championships in 2015. He represented Japan at the 2014 Asian Games and was national champion that year.
==Career== Born in Mie Prefecture,<ref name=JAAF>[http://www.jaaf.or.jp/fan/player/men221.html 衛藤 昂 Takashi Eto]. Japanese Association of Athletics Federations. Retrieved on 8 June 2015.</ref> he competed in the high jump as a teenager and began to make progress at national level in 2008, winning the national junior games and placing in the top three at the national junior championships. The year after he began attending the University of Tsukuba and continued with the sport, placing fifth at the Japan Championships in Athletics and setting a best of {{T&Fcalc|2.19}} at the Japanese university championships.<ref name=Tilas>[http://www.tilastopaja.org/db/atf.php?Sex=1&ID=115186 Takashi Eto]. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 8 June 2015.</ref> He gained his first international selection at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics, but did not get past the qualifiers or improve upon his best.<ref>[http://www.iaaf.org/athletes/japan/takashi-eto-251001#honours Takashi Eto]. IAAS. Retrieved on 8 June 2015.</ref>
He edged towards the top of the national scene at the 2011 Japanese Championships, placing second to Naoto Tobe, and cleared two metres and twenty for the first time that season, ending with a best of {{T&Fcalc|2.24}}.<ref>Nakamura, Ken (12 June 2011). [http://www.iaaf.org/news/news/murofushi-wins-17th-straight-national-title Murofushi wins 17th straight national title]. IAAF. Retrieved on 8 June 2015.</ref> As a consequence of this performance he was chosen to compete at the 2011 Asian Athletics Championships held in Kobe and out did Tobe by having a personal best of {{T&Fcalc|2.24}} to place fourth.<ref>[http://www.jaaf.or.jp/aac19/startlist/liveresult/pc/r_m_HJ_f.pdf 19th Asian Athletics Championships, Hyogo･Kobe-Japan 2011 Men High Jump Final]. JAAF. Retrieved on 8 June 2015.</ref> Eto was beaten at national level by Hiromi Takahari at the 2012 Japan Championships and finished down in ninth place at that year's Japanese National Games.<ref name=Tilas/> Eto and Takahari repeated their placings at the 2013 Japan Championships and he was again behind Takahari at the 2013 Asian Athletics Championships, coming seventh. He had a late season resurgence, however, setting a personal best of {{T&Fcalc|2.27}} to win the National Sports Festival title.<ref name=Tilas/> This ranked him in the world top fifty in the seasonal rankings for the first time, and the fifth best Asian man.<ref>[http://www.iaaf.org/records/toplists/jumps/high-jump/outdoor/men/senior/2013 High Jump - men - senior - outdoor - 2013]. IAAF. Retrieved on 8 June 2015.</ref>
thumb|left|Eto after a successful jump in 2019 Eto set a new best of {{T&Fcalc|2.28}} at the Golden Grand Prix in Tokyo in 2014, moving him to a new high of 26th on the world yearly lists.<ref>[http://www.iaaf.org/records/toplists/jumps/high-jump/outdoor/men/senior/2014 High Jump - men - senior - outdoor - 2014]. IAAF. Retrieved on 8 June 2015.</ref> His first national title followed at the Japan Championships in June, but by the time of the Asian Games in September, he could only manage a jump of {{T&Fcalc|2.15}} for eleventh place. He was also down at national level, coming third at the National Games.<ref name=JAAF/> He was again strong in the early season of 2015, twice equalling his best to win at the Shizuoka International and place third at the Golden Grand Prix (behind Bogdan Bondarenko and Zhang Guowei).<ref name=Tilas/><ref>[http://www.iaaf.org/news/report/kawasaki-seiko-golden-grand-prix Bartoletta and Bondarenko provide the highlights in Kawasaki]. IAAF (10 May 2015). Retrieved on 8 June 2015.</ref> He did not reach such heights at the 2015 Asian Athletics Championships, but his jump of {{T&Fcalc|2.24}} in the rain of Wuhan was still enough to win a gold medal for Japan – world leader Mutaz Essa Barshim surprised by finishing in third, some twenty centimetres off his best.<ref>[http://www.iaaf.org/news/report/china-asian-championships China add four gold on final day to finish on top at Asian Championships]. IAAF (7 June 2015). Retrieved on 8 June 2015.</ref> He was the first Japanese man to win an Asian Championships high jump title since Shuji Ujino in 1985.<ref>[http://www.gbrathletics.com/ic/asc.htm Asian Championships]. GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 8 June 2015.</ref>
==National titles== *Japan Championships in Athletics **High jump: 2014 **HJ: 2016 (2.29m, PB)
==International competitions== {| {{AchievementTable}} |- |2010 |World Junior Championships |Moncton, Canada |27th (q) |2.05 m |- |2011 |Asian Championships |Kobe, Japan |4th |2.24 m |- |2013 |Asian Championships |Pune, India |7th |2.18 m |- |2014 |Asian Games |Incheon, South Korea |11th |2.15 m |- |rowspan=2|2015 |Asian Championships |Wuhan, China |bgcolor=gold|1st |2.24 m |- |World Championships |Beijing, China |28th (q) |2.22 m |- |2016 |Olympic Games |Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |35th (q) |2.17 m |- |2017 |World Championships |London, United Kingdom |22nd (q) |2.22 m |- |2018 |Asian Games |Jakarta, Indonesia |6th |2.24 m |- |rowspan=2|2019 |Asian Championships |Doha, Qatar |bgcolor=silver|2nd |2.29 m |- |World Championships |Doha, Qatar |25th (q) |2.17 m |- |2021 |Olympic Games |Tokyo, Japan |17th (q) |2.21 m |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{World Athletics}} * {{JAAF|takashi_eto}} * [https://www.jaaf.or.jp/olympic/tokyo2020/athletes/profile/takashi_eto/ Takashi Eto – Tokyo 2020] at JAAF {{in lang|ja}} * {{InterSportStats}} * {{Olympedia}} * {{Olympics.com|takashi-eto}} * {{Team Japan|olympic/tokyo/sports/athletics/team/etotakashi}}
{{Footer Asian Champions men's high jump}} {{Japan Championships in Athletics men's high jump champions}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eto, Takashi}} Category:1991 births Category:Living people Category:Japanese men high jumpers Category:Olympic men high jumpers Category:Olympic athletes for Japan Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics Category:Asian Games athletes for Japan Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Asian Games Category:Athletes (track and field) at the 2018 Asian Games Category:World Athletics Championships athletes for Japan Category:Asian Athletics Championships winners Category:Asian Athletics Championships medalists Category:Japan Championships in Athletics winners Category:University of Tsukuba alumni Category:Athletes from Mie Prefecture Category:21st-century Japanese sportsmen