Koji Murofushi (© getty images)
Biography
The third alltime best hammer thrower, Koji Murofushi was born on 8 October 1974 and grew up in a family of throwers.
His father Shigenobu won a record of five Asian Games gold medals and held the Japanese Hammer Throw record until Koji broke it for the first time on 26 April 1998. His mother was a Romanian javelin thrower and his sister Yuka a discus thrower.
Silver medalist in Edmonton’s World Championships, Murofushi also won the 2001 Goodwill Games, the 2002 IAAF Grand Prix Final and established 18 national records between 1998 and 2001. He won the IAAF World Championships bronze medal despite an elbow injury in 2003.
A disappointing ninth at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Murofushi was the overwhelming favourite for gold at the Athens Olympic Games. Following the disqualification of Hungary’s Adrian Annus, Murifushi was awarded with the much deserved Olympic gold medal.
Koji Murofushi has been elected by his peers to the IAAF Athletes’ Commission at the 2003 Paris World Championships.
