Ray Takahashi
Ray Takahashi’s roots are deep within the
wrestling program at Western. In addition to being
the head coach of the wrestling team since 1985,
Western University is also Takahashi’s alma mater.
Takahashi attended Western as an undergraduate
student from 1978 until 1982, graduating with an
Honors Bachelor of Arts degree.
During his time as a student, he was a
member of the local London-Western wrestling team
as well as a varsity athlete with the Western
Mustangs team. Even as a first year student,
Takahashi had already competed at the highest level
of amateur competition in the 1976 Montreal
Olympics. In Montreal, he wrestled in the LightFlyweight weight class. Born on August 7, 1958,
Takahashi represented the Canadian team at the age
of seventeen, the youngest Canadian wrestler in the
competition. He would continue to participate in
international competitions during his wrestling
career, qualifying for two additional Olympic Games
in 1980 and 1984.
Canadian Wrestler of the Year in 1978, an honour he
would receive again in 1984.
Overall, 1978 was an impressive year for
Takahashi, as he was also named the league’s most
outstanding player. The men’s wrestling team won
the Senior Intercollegiate team championship during
his first year as a student and rookie athlete at
Western University.
1979 was a transitional period for the
Mustangs wrestling team. Western alumnus Glynn
Leyshon stepped down as head coach after
seventeen years coaching the varsity wrestling team.
Leyshon had been the head coach of the wrestling
program since 1963, both in a part-time and fulltime capacity.
Under Leyshon, the Mustangs wrestling
team won the league championship five times. Four
of these championships were won by the Mustangs
outright, as well as co-champions in 1971 along with
Waterloo. Leyshon’s accolades include the OUAA
Coach of the Year award in 1974 and 1975, as well as
the CIAU Coach of the Year award, also in 1975. (The
OUAA and CIAU were the former incarnations of the
current OUA and CIS respectively.)
Takahashi wrestled under Leyshon in his
first two years as a varsity wrestler until Leyshon
departed. A highly respected coach, Leyshon
stepped down due to an overwhelming schedule as a
teaching faculty member in addition to his duties as
a head coach. Takahashi has credited Leyshon for his
success in wrestling, both as an athlete as well as a
coach.
As a wrestler with the Western Mustangs,
Takahashi had an extremely successful varsity
career, in addition to his success as a wrestler at the
international level. He competed in several wellknown events such as the Commonwealth Games
and the Pan-American Games. He was named the
Takahashi qualified to be a member of
Canada’s Olympic team in 1980, with Leyshon
named as the head coach of the Canadian team.
Unfortunately, this period of Takahashi’s life took
place during heightened tensions between North
America and the former Soviet Union. With the 1980
Summer Olympics being held in Moscow, the
Canadian team joined sixty four other countries in a
political boycott of the Summer Games.
Sources: http://www.westernwrestling.ca/?page_id=13 ;
http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ta/ray-takahashi-1.html
http://www.westernwrestling.ca/?page_id=10
http://www.oua.ca/index.aspx?path=wrestling
Photo credit: http://www.lib.uwo.ca/archives/virtualexhibits/metrasmuseum/exhibits/show/wrestling/profiles/
Ray Takahashi
The decision for the Canadian Olympic
Association to participate in the boycott was likely
due to pressure from the United States to do so. The
United States intended the boycott to be a protest
against the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
These political affairs of the Cold War era prevented
Takahashi from competing in his second consecutive
Olympic Games. The boycott of the 1980 Summer
Olympics did not only prevent Takahashi from
participating; Leyshon was also denied the
opportunity to coach the Canadian wresting team.
Despite this setback, Takahashi did not slow down.
He would continue to wrestle for the Mustangs and
compete in national tournaments. In 1982, his final
undergraduate year, Takahashi was named the cowinner of the Dr. Claude Brown Memorial Trophy.
This recognition is awarded yearly to the Western
Mustangs’ top male athlete.
Takahashi would represent Canada for a
final time in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los
Angeles. He gave a strong performance in the 1984
Olympics. He competed in the men’s Flyweight class
that year, ultimately just missing the podium with a
fourth place finish. Still, his fourth place
performance was a personal best as an Olympic
athlete.
Takahashi returned to Western as a
graduate student following his final Olympic
competition in Los Angeles. He did his graduate
studies in the Physical Education program (now the
Kinesiology department) with a focus on coaching.
After Leyshon’s departure as the Mustangs’ head
coach in 1979, the wrestling team had several
different interim head coaches. Takahashi was
offered the position in 1985, and has been the coach
of the Western Mustangs wrestling program since.
His appointment as head coach nearly thirty years
ago has brought stability and success to Western’s
wrestling program. Takahashi completed his
master’s degree in Coaching Specialization in 1988.
He had concurrently worked on his graduate degree
as well as attending to his duties as the Mustangs
wrestling team’s head coach.
Ray Takahashi’s tenure as head coach has
been successful, very much like his career as an
athlete. He coached the men’s team to OUA
championships in 1990, 1991, 1994, 2012 and 2013.
The women’s team also won an OUA championship
in 2007. Takahashi was named the OUA Coach of the
Year five times for the men’s team and four times for
the women’s team. He was also named the CIS
Coach of the Year in 1990. Takahashi was directly
responsible for the inauguration of an OUA
recognized women’s wrestling team in 2000.
Outside of his coaching duties, he also
established the Wrestling Wall of Fame in 1985 with
the help of donations from Western alumni. He
inaugurated the Leyshon Trophy to the most
dedicated player on the Mustangs varsity wrestling
team in 1992. Takahashi would later establish
another honour in dedication of his mentor, the
Leyshon Award. This award is aimed towards
athletes in Western’s wrestling program that are in
need of financial aid. Takahashi was recognized for
his talents as both an athlete and a coach when he
was inducted into the Canadian Wrestling Hall of
Fame in 1991.
Ray Takahashi remains the current head
coach as of 2013 and is also a faculty member in the
School of Kinesiology program. He is married with
two children, a son, Steven and a daughter, Mariko.
Steven Takahashi is currently a member of the
Western Mustangs wrestling team, being named the
OUA Most Valuable Player as well as the OUA and
CIS Rookie of the Year in 2011.
Sources: http://www.westernwrestling.ca/?page_id=13 ;
http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ta/ray-takahashi-1.html
http://www.westernwrestling.ca/?page_id=10
http://www.oua.ca/index.aspx?path=wrestling
Photo credit: http://www.lib.uwo.ca/archives/virtualexhibits/metrasmuseum/exhibits/show/wrestling/profiles/