Former Olympic gymnast Chieko Tsukahara dies at 77

Chieko Tsukahara, a former Olympic gymnast who later coached the Japanese national team, died of stomach cancer on Sept. 1, reports said Monday. Tsukahara was 77.
Her family held a private funeral service.
Tsukahara, whose maiden name was Oda, was born in Nagasaki and got her start in gymnastics at Nagasaki Nishi High School and continued in the sport at Nippon Sport Science University.

Tsukahara competed for Japan at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City and was part of the squad that finished fourth in the women’s artistic gymnastics team all-around competition.
She retired from competition in 1972 due to injury and married fellow gymnast Mitsuo Tsukahara, a five-time gold medalist.
Tsukahara focused on nurturing future generations of gymnasts following her retirement and was head coach of the Asahi Mutual Life Insurance gymnastics club. She served as Japan’s national team coach at the Beijing Games in 2008 and four years later at the 2012 London Olympics.
Tsukahara was accused of power harassment by a female athlete in 2018. Although an investigation by the Japan Gymnastics Association’s third-party committee found no evidence of power harassment, she decided to step down from her position as a training chief for female gymnasts with the sport’s governing body.
Olympic gymnasts Maiko Morio, Mari Kosuge and Koko Tsurumi are among those who trained under Tsukahara.
Her son Naoya Tsukuhara was also a gymnast and won a gold medal in the men’s team event at the 2004 Athens Games.