Sueo Ōe

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 awarded the silver after a decision of the Japanese team, on the basis that Nishida had cleared the height in fewer attempts.[2] 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.[3]

A Nishida-Oe silver-bronze medal

Sueo Ōe

Sueo Ōe (left) and Shuhei Nishida in 1930
Personal information
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[1]
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight	60 kg (130 lb)
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	Pole vault
Medal record Representing  Japan Olympic Games 1936 Berlin Pole vault Far Eastern Championship Games 1934 Manila Pole vault

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.[1][4][5]

References

1. 舞鶴出身オリンピック選手　プロフィール. soukaku.com
2. https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/rio-2016-olympics-shuhei-nishida-and-sueo-oe-berlin-1936-japan-the-friends-who-wouldn-t-be-divided-7166816.html
3. Shuhei Nishida. sports-reference.com
4. Sueo Oe. sports-reference.com
5. "Olympians Who Were Killed or Missing in Action or Died as a Result of War". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2018.