Okuyama Yoshiyuki

Okuyama Yoshiyuki (奥山 義行) is a former SASUKE competitor and a former World Championship sprinter, competing in the '91 Championships in the 200m. He currently works as a Sports gym instructor and occasionally competes in Amateur Motorbike races as shown in SASUKE 24. He has competed in nine SASUKE tournaments and is one of the most consistent competitors, making it to the third stage six times (consecutively) and almost achieving kanzenseiha in SASUKE 24. Okuyama considers SASUKE his personal Olympics, and trained non-stop for the competition.

Early Tournaments
His first tournament appearance was in SASUKE 19 where he wore #39. There he was the second person that day to beat the Jumping Spider and the Half-Pipe Attack. However, his run ended on the Soritatsu Kabe where he timed out. This run was all cut from the SASUKE 19 TBS broadcast but was later shown in the SASUKE 25 Navi.

His first aired attempt was in SASUKE 20, where he wore #1924. Although he almost failed the Jumping Spider and it took him three attempts to clear the Soritatsu Kabe, he cleared the stage and was only one of three people to attempt the Second Stage. There, he cleared the Salmon Ladder with amazing speed but unfortunately became the only competitor ever to fail the Stick Slider. Before the next tournament, caps were placed at each end of the Salmon Ladder/Stick Slider bar to prevent such an unexpected failure.

He returned in SASUKE 21 and wore #95 due to his great performance in SASUKE 20. However, he was all cut but it is known that he timed out on the Soritatsu Kabe.

Rise to Prominence
In SASUKE 22, he wore #84 and performed much better than any other previous attempt. He was able to clear the Soritatsu Kabe in one attempt and then went on to clear the new Slider Jump and eventually finished the stage in time. In the Second Stage, he was able to clear everything with ease finishing with the best time. In the Third Stage, he made it to the Shin-Cliffhanger but while trying to make it to the third ledge his left hand landed on his right hand and he fell there.

In SASUKE 23, he once again performed very well. Wearing #92, he was able to clear the First Stage in a great time. In the Second Stage, he ran into some trouble on the new Unstable Bridge and while he was low on time, he cleared with 2.0 seconds left. In the Third Stage, he was able to overcome the Shin-Cliffhanger by using a different technique than in SASUKE 22. He eventually made it to the Spider Flip, but while trying to jump to the second ledge, his foot missed the ledge and he fell into the water.

In SASUKE 24, he yet again put on a good run. Wearing #95, he was able to battle through the first two stages. In the Third Stage, he cleared the Spider Flip that eliminated him in SASUKE 23 and then went on to clear the Gliding Ring, becoming the fifth person that day to make it to the Final Stage. He timed out on the G-Rope during the final stage, only feet from the Goal.

Kanzen Renewal
Okuyama returned for the Kanzen Renewal in SASUKE 25. He picked #50 in the lottery which was his lowest number since clearing the First Stage in SASUKE 20. There, he again performed well. Clearing all of the obstacles in the First Stage. He went on to clear the new Second Stage as well. In the Third Stage, he had major trouble on the Floating Boards. Even though he cleared, it was evident that he was very tired. On the new Ultimate Cliffhanger, he barely made it up the first ledge before falling into the water.

Okuyama returned stronger in SASUKE 26, wearing #97. He cleared the First Stage with seconds to spare. In the Second Stage, he took his time on the Double Salmon Ladder and Unstable Bridge connection, only managing to clear with three-tenths of a second. He then cleared the first two hardened Third Stage obstacles with ease and had no trouble on the new Cycling Road (replacing the Floating Boards which gave him trouble last time). However, during the transition to the fifth ledge on the Ultimate Cliffhanger, Okuyama's grip gave way before he could throw enough momentum. Wearing #96 in SASUKE 27 he continued his consistency clearing the First and Second (with more time than last) Stages, reaching the Third Stage for the 6th straight time. However, when attempting the Flying Bar now as the second obstacle in the stage, he failed to position the bar evenly, failing to land on the left side of the rung which dropped him in the water.

SASUKE RISING
He auditioned for SASUKE 28 but ultimately was not selected and did not compete.

He did, however, compete in the following tournament, SASUKE 29. He cleared the First Stage for the seventh straight time, being the second oldest competitor ever to do so at age 43. However, on the Second Stage, he was one of 11 to time out on the modified Backstream, thus ending his streak of six straight Third Stage appearances.

After SASUKE 29, Okuyama retired from SASUKE due to an ankle injury he sustained whilst dismounting the Cross Slider, as he did not want to risk further harm on his body from said injury.

Trivia

 * Okuyama is the oldest person to reach the Final Stage. He reached the Final Stage in SASUKE 24 at age of 39, beating Nagano Makoto's previous record of 37 years old set just one tournament prior.
 * Okuyama, along with Urushihara Yuuji, is tied for being the second-oldest person to reach the Third Stage, at the age of 41 (SASUKE 27 for Okuyama and SASUKE 37 for Urushihara). The record is held by Suzuki Yusuke, who reached the Third Stage at age 43 in SASUKE 39.
 * He and Drew Drechsel have the 2nd most consecutive Third Stage appearances, at 6 (SASUKE 22 to 27 for Okuyama and SASUKE 30 to 35 for Drechsel). Takeda Toshihiro and Satō Jun both matching the record for having the most consecutive Third Stage appearances at seven.