The 90-year-old Japanese bodybuilder Toshisuke Kanazawa recently won the All Japan Masters Fitness Championship in the 85-and-over category, securing his 19th national title. The Hiroshima-based bodybuilder, who doesn't eat meat or fish, has spent decades building a career in fitness. He has also shared same stage bodybuilding legends Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sergio Oliva, according to The Guardian. The report stated that Toshisuke Kanazawa participated in the 1967 Mr Universe competition in Montreal with Arnold Schwarzenegger. Kanazawa secured fourth position in that event.
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From Olympic dream to bodybuilding champion
Born in Shimane prefecture on the Japan Sea coast in 1936, Toshisuke Kanazawa was a gifted swimmer and initially dreamed of becoming an Olympic swimmer. He excelled in the 1500m freestyle when he was a high school student. But muscular issue ended his hopes of competing at the Olympics, prompting him to turn his attention to bodybuilding. “My mother was sceptical but supportive, but my father was dead against it – he thought young men should work, he says. “I told them I wanted to be the best in Japan but would need a few years to achieve that," he was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
