Career
He was the gold medallist at the 1982 Asian Games and the 1981 Asian Athletics Championships, as well as runner-up at those tournaments in 1978 and 1979. He also twice represented Asia at the IAAF World Cup. Nagao established himself among the top Asian hurdlers in the 1977 season.
He was unable to compete at the 1977 Asian Athletics Championships, as the even was cancelled due to the lack of support from the International Amateur Athletics Federation, following the exclusion of Israel from the tournament.
Nagao competed at two major international events that year: he was Asia"s selection for the 1977 IAAF World Cup, placing eighth, and was a bronze medallist at the 1977 Pacific Conference Games, finishing behind Australian Garry Brown and Sam Turner of the United States. He reached the final and finished in a time of 50.98 seconds, taking runner-up spot behind Iraqi hurdler Hussein Kadhum.
Nagao ran a lifetime best of 49.59 seconds in Tokyo in September that year – a time which placed him eleventh on the global seasonal rankings. He was a pick for the national team for the 1979 Asian Athletics Championships held in Tokyo.
The Japanese duo of Nagao and Yukihiro Yoshimatsu reached the podium, with Kadhum retaining his position as the continent"s best hurdler and Nagao again taking a silver medal.
Yoshimatsu succeeded Nagao to the national title in 1980 (breaking his record as well). Ohmori and Yoshimatsu rounded out the podium to make it a Japanese medal sweep at the championships in Tokyo. Replacing Kadhum as the region"s top hurdler, he was chosen for both the 400 m hurdles and the 4 × 400 m relay team for Asia at the 1981 IAAF World Cup.
However, Nagao maintained his dominance at continental level with a gold medal at the Asian Games in New Delhi.
The final was a battle between the two Japanese and Nagao came out on top for a second Asian title, breaking the Asian Games record in the process with his effort of 50.60 seconds.
