Katayama was also a member of the national wrestling squad under coach and three-time Olympian Yasutoshi Moriyama, while training full time at the Sports Club of Self-Defense Forces in Saitama Prefecture.

At his maiden Olympics in Atlanta 1996, Katayama started the competition in the men's welterweight category (74 kg) with a powerful 13–2 triumph over Algeria's Youcef Bouguerra, before falling behind Finland's eventual silver medalist Marko Asell in his next bout by a 2–4 verdict.

Originally placed tenth, Katayama upgraded his position to eighth, as two other wrestlers decided to forfeit the final consolation round.

[3] When he entered the 1998 Asian Games with the best chance to top the podium in the 76 kg category, Katayama narrowly missed a single point to subdue his Kazakh opponent Bakhtiyar Baiseitov (4–5) for gold in the final match, ending his second Asiad with a silver.

Unlike his previous Games, Katayama lost his opening match 0–4 to the eventual champion Murat Kardanov of Russia and could not rally for points to break a 2–2 draw against Hungary's Tamás Berzicza upon the referee's decision, dropping him to the bottom of the prelim pool and seventeenth overall in the final standings.