Hiroyasu Shimizu

Hiroyasu Shimizu (清水 宏保, Shimizu Hiroyasu, born 27 February 1974) is a Japanese speed skater. He has an Olympic gold medal from 1998 in the 500 m and his win made him a hero in his home country. He currently holds the world record for the 100 m speed skating event in 9.43 seconds. He formerly held the 500 m record (34.32) but was later beaten by fellow Japanese skater Joji Kato.

Hiroyasu Shimizu

Personal information
Born	27 February 1974 (1974-02-27) (age 47) Obihiro, Hokkaidō, Japan
Height	1.62 m (5 ft 4 in)
Sport
Country	Japan
Sport	Speed skating
Medal record Olympic Games 1998 Nagano 500 m 2002 Salt Lake City 500 m 1998 Nagano 1000 m World Single Distance Championships 1996 Hamar 500 m 1998 Calgary 500 m 1999 Heerenveen 500 m 2000 Nagano 500 m 2001 Salt Lake City 500 m 1999 Heerenveen 1000 m 2003 Berlin 500 m 2005 Inzell 500 m 1997 Warszawa 500 m 1998 Calgary 1000 m World Sprint Championships 1995 Milwaukee Sprint 1996 Heerenveen Sprint 2001 Inzell Sprint 1993 Ikaho Sprint 1999 Calgary Sprint 2000 Seoul Sprint Asian Games 2003 Aomori 500 m 2003 Aomori 1000 m

He is well known for his physical handicaps, with a height of only 162 centimetres (5 ft 4 in), and he has an asthma, for which he was featured in a commercial for an asthma drug by GlaxoSmithKline.

He married Japanese fashion model Reiko Takagaki (高垣麗子).