Career Highlights: The son of an Olympic hammer thrower, Murofushi has been elite in the event himself for nearly two decades and hasn't shown any signs of slowing down. Competing on smaller stages, he won four medals between 1993 and '95 in the Asian Games before winning his first gold in the 1997 East Asian Games. He finished just ninth at the 2000 Olympics, but then won gold in the 2001 Goodwill Games and East Asian Games. Murofushi provided the longest hammer throw in more than a decade in 2003 - 84.86 meters - which he followed by winning gold at the 2004 Athens Games. Though he was unable to defend his title four years later in Beijing, finishing fifth, Murofushi has remained relevant in the years leading up to London. He won gold in the World Championships for the first time in 2011, perhaps an indication the Japanese star is primed to find his way onto the podium again this summer.