is a Japanese retired nordic combined skier. He won a gold medal in the 4 ÃÂ 5 km team event at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 in Liberec.
Competing in six Winter Olympics, Watabe won four olympic medals: two silvers and two bronzes.
During the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, Akito Watabe took home the silver medal in the Nordic Combined Individual Gundersen NH / 10 km, Cross-Country event.
In the 2018 Olympics, Watabe won the silver medal in the normal hill/10 km Nordic combined competition.
In the 2022 Olympics, Akito Watabe won two bronze medals in the large hill/10 km and Team large hill Nordic combined competition.
He has the record of most starts in the history of the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup, 303.
His wife, Yurie Watabe, is a Japanese freestyle skier, who specialises in halfpipe. Akito's younger brother, Yoshito also competes in Nordic Combined World Cup.