Koichi Nakano was born in Fukuoka, Japan in 1955 and remains the only rider to win sprint gold at the world championships 10 times in a row. He is also the only Japanese rider to have ever won gold in the sprint competition. Known as the “de laatste Keizer” (the last emperor), he was one of the most successful on the Japanese Kerin circuit, but never won a world championship as it was introduced toward the end of his reign. He was coached by Bill Long, who was one of Australia’s top cyclists and journalists.
