The Paris Olympics are heating up. Various human relationships can be seen at the Olympics. Photo: JIJI
The Paris Olympics reminds me
The surprising side of past Olympic athletes
As you’d expect from the country of art, France, the Olympics began with an original opening ceremony, and with the first ever Paris Olympics featuring an equal number of men and women, I, who was the editor-in-chief of the magazine Shukan Bunshun for older men, would like to share some of my “extremely inappropriate” conversations and anecdotes with former Olympians.
The Olympics are a tough time for weekly magazines, because by the time the magazine comes out, the next medalist is in the spotlight, and they can only publish outdated news that is behind the times. Even at times like these, stories about love between athletes sell well. The most surprising story, which was published in another magazine, was when a photo was published of “Yawara-chan” Tamura (now surnamed Tani) Ryoko, showing her in love with a cycling athlete in the athletes’ village. As she is single, it is not a problem at all, but to be honest, I was surprised to see Tamura, who is not particularly conspicuous, talking about love.
However, it seems that the athletes’ village is a place where relationships between men and women get very heated. Hideo Nomo also participated in the Olympics when he was an amateur. After he joined the majors, I asked Orix manager Akira Ohgi about what it was like back then. Nomo said, “Well, the athletes’ village is full of young, energetic men and there are few women, so anyone can be popular.” What will happen in Paris, where there are an equal number of men and women?
I first noticed Yawara-chan’s charm when she was in middle school. While waiting for an interview in the lobby of the Tobu Hotel in Shibuya, I saw a group of girls who looked to be middle school students frolicking around in tracksuits. Among them was a girl who stood out, not so much for her beauty, but for her overwhelming aura. Later, when I saw her being introduced on the news as “the hope of women’s judo,” I immediately knew “that girl.” It must have been Yawara-chan’s aura that won the heart of the handsome Orix outfielder, Tani Yoshitomo.
There are also two players and coaches for whom I feel sorry. One is Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, who completely fended off the fierce attack of the world’s strongest team, Brazil, at the Atlanta Olympics, bringing about a “miraculous victory.” I had asked him to write a serial for a weekly magazine, so I greeted him at the send-off party for the 2002 Japan-Korea World Cup.
“Well, my name is Seigo, and it’s the same as your rival, Seigo Narazaki, but I’m on Kawaguchi’s side,” I said, smiling and saying, “I’ll beat Seigo, absolutely.” However, he was disliked by coach Troussier and had almost no opportunities to play. Seigo Narazaki was a regular, and even though he wasn’t playing, he was featured every week, which was a tough experience for him.
2024-07-31 09:21:55
#judoist #Yawarachan #popular #athletes #village #Bunshun #editorinchief #reveals #Olympic #athletes #famous #quotes #strange #quotes #big #blunders #Bunshun #editorinchief #talk #Diamond #Online
