A photo of the two of them taken during an interview in 2023. Tsunoda is on the left and Ishiwata is on the right.
Due to the competition schedule, Natsumi Tsunoda is expected to be the fastest medal winner at the Paris Olympics. Her high school judo coach, Masaaki Ishiwata, recalls her time as “a straight-forward and good athlete.”
“In his second year of high school, he came in third in the nation. He thought, ‘I’ll win the next year,’ but he dropped to fifth place. Maybe he was burned out after that, because that summer he said, ‘I’m going to be a cake shop owner.'”
When Ishiwata heard this, he became angry and said, “What are you talking about!”
[Related article: Paris Olympics qualifier Ikee Rikako’s “two-line post” sparks a storm of emotion: “There’s no greater achievement than this”]
“Come to think of it, her father’s hobby was baking, and he would sometimes bring apple pies and other treats to school. I wanted her to become an athlete who could spread her wings and make it onto the world stage. She received offers from strong teams and corporate teams, but Tsunoda still refused.
So when I suggested that she go to Gakugei University, which had just started to strengthen its judo club at the time, she jumped at the chance. She loves judo to the core. She wanted to do it in a relaxed environment, not at a strong university. That suited her. After entering university, she started learning jiu-jitsu and frequently attended training sessions. She became more energetic than she was in high school.”
Ishiwata still keeps in contact with Tsunoda, and before every match he always encourages him by saying, “You’ve got to keep going.”
“I contact him and say, ‘How are you doing? Have fun as always.’ I read somewhere that Abe Uta said about Kakuta, ‘I don’t know why Kakuta is smiling during the match,’ but Kakuta is always having fun, even during the match. That’s why I call out to him like that.
This time, I will be going to Paris with Tsunoda’s family to support him. I want to encourage him in Paris, too, by telling him to have fun as always.”
(Weekly FLASH July 16, 2024 issue)
2024-07-01 21:06:26
#real #faces #medal #candidates #Paris #OlympicsExpectations #fastest #medal #Judoist #Natsumi #Tsunodas #mentor #reveals #cake #shop #owner #Declaration #conversion #year #high #school #Smart #FLASHSmahura光文社週刊誌
