2020 Olympics: Superfan Naotoshi Yamada dies with unfulfilled Tokyo Games dream
Naotoshi Yamada poses for a photo at his office in Tokyo, Japan, October 3, 2018.
PHOTO: Reuters
PUBLISHED ONMarch 17, 2019 11:09 PM
Superfan Naotoshi Yamada, famous in Japan for having been to every Summer Games since 1964, has died aged 92 with an unfulfilled dream of watching the Olympics when it returns to Tokyo next year.
Japanese broadcaster NHK reported on Monday that he died last week following heart failure.
Yamada, known to his Japanese compatriots as "Olympic Ojisan", or "Olympics Grandad", first experienced the Games when Tokyo last hosted the gathering in 1964.
He had been a colourful presence at every Summer Games since, in his distinctive gold top hat and red jacket to pair with his beaming smile.
In an interview in October, Yamada had expressed his desire to live long enough to see the Tokyo 2020 Games.
"It will be the culmination of all my years cheering the Olympics," Yamada had said.
Yamada's haul of flags, stamps, photographs and other items collected on his Olympic travels are on display at a gallery in his hometown of Nanto City, Toyama Prefecture.