Tetsuya Matsunaga (松永 鉄也, Matsunaga Tetsuya, born 15 April 1979 in Kyoto) is a Japanese sailor, who specialized in two-person dinghy (470) class.[1] He represented Japan, along with his partner Taro Ueno, at the 2008 Summer Olympics, and has also been training for Three Bond Sailing Team in Kyoto throughout most of his sporting career under his longtime coach and mentor Kenji Nakamura.[2] As of September 2014, Matsunaga is ranked twenty-sixth in the world for two-person dinghy class by the International Sailing Federation, following his successes at the South American Championships, ISAF Sailing World Cup Series, and 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships in Santander, Spain.[3]

Tetsuya Matsunaga
Personal information
Nationality Japan
Born (1979-04-15) 15 April 1979 (age 45)
Kyoto, Japan
Height1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Weight57 kg (126 lb)
Sailing career
ClassDinghy
ClubThree Bond Sailing Team
CoachKenji Nakamura

Matsunaga qualified as a skipper for the Japanese squad in the men's 470 class at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, by placing fifteenth and receiving a berth from the World Championships in Melbourne, Australia.[4] Teaming with crew member Taro Ueno in the eleven-race series, the Japanese duo mounted a marvelous lead in the opening leg, but came up short for the medal with a net score of 97 and a seventh-place finish in a fleet of twenty-nine boats.[5][6]

At the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championships, Matsunaga and his new partner Yugo Yoshida set a best career record with a sixth-place finish in the men's 470 class to secure their spot on the Japanese sailing team for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[7]

References

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  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Tetsuya Matsunaga". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  2. ^ Boyd, James (3 October 2013). "Tight at the top". The Daily Sail. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  3. ^ "Tale Of Two Halves Across Palma Bay At ISAF Sailing World Cup Mallorca". ISAF. 2 April 2014. Archived from the original on 6 April 2014. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  4. ^ "Event Guide: Men's Two Person Dinghy – 470". 470 World Championships. 9 August 2008. Archived from the original on 10 October 2011. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
  5. ^ "Men's 470 Class". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 5 January 2014. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
  6. ^ "Australians win both men's and women's 470 sailing". The Canadian Press. The Sports Network. 18 August 2008. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  7. ^ "Aussies And Austrians Strike 470 Gold In Santander". ISAF. 20 September 2014. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 21 September 2014.
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