Sueo Ōe

Sueo Ōe
Sueo Ōe (left) and Shuhei Nishida in 1930
Personal information
Native name大江 季雄
NationalityJapanese
BornAugust 2, 1914
Nachikatsuura, Wakayama, Japan
DiedDecember 24, 1941(1941-12-24) (aged 27)
Luzon, Philippines
Alma materKeio University
Height1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Weight60 kg (130 lb)
Sport
SportAthletics
EventPole vault
Medal record
Representing  Japan
Olympic Games
1936 BerlinPole vault
Far Eastern Championship Games
1934 ManilaPole vault

Sueo Ōe (大江 季雄, Ōe Sueo; August 2, 1914 – December 24, 1941) was a Japanese athlete who competed mainly in the pole vault. He won a bronze medal at the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin, Germany, tying with his teammate Shuhei Nishida. When the two declined to compete against each other to decide a winner, Nishida was awarded the silver after a decision of the Japanese team, on the basis that Nishida had cleared the height in fewer attempts. On their return to Japan, Nishida and Ōe had their Olympic medals cut in half, and had a jeweler splice together two new medals, half in bronze and half in silver.

In 1937 Ōe set a national record at 4 m 35 cm that stood for 21 years. In 1939 he joined the Imperial Japanese Army and was killed in action in Luzon on December 24, 1941.