Sueo Ōe (left) and Shuhei Nishida in 1930
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Personal information | |
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Native name | 大江 季雄 |
Nationality | Japan |
Born | August 2, 1914 Nachikatsuura, Wakayama, Japan |
Died | December 24, 1941 (aged 27) Wake Island |
Alma mater | Keio University |
Height | 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in) |
Weight | 60 kg (130 lb) |
Sport | |
Sport | Athletics |
Event(s) | Pole vault |
Medal record
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Sueo Ōe (大江 季雄 Ōe Sueo?, August 2, 1914 – December 24, 1941) was a Japanese athlete who competed mainly in the pole vault. He won a bronze medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin, Germany, tying with his teammate Shuhei Nishida. When the two declined to compete against each other to decide a winner, Nishida was arbitrarily awarded the silver. The competition was featured in a scene in the documentary Olympia, filmed by Leni Riefenstahl. On their return to Japan, Nishida and Ōe had their Olympic medals cut in half, and had a jeweler splice together two new “friendship medals”, half in bronze and half in silver.
In 1937 Ōe set a national record at 4 m 35 cm that stood for 21 years. In 1939 he joined the Imperial Japanese Army and was killed in action in the Battle of Wake Island on December 24, 1941.