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[JAPAN SPORTS NOTEBOOK] Japan's Athletes for the Paris Olympics Receive a Spirited Send-Off

Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko were among the dignitaries at a ceremony, which was held three weeks before the Paris Olympics, in Tokyo.

Published

4 months ago

July 7, 2024

Ed Odeven

Fencer Misaki Emura (right) and breaking superstar Shigeyuki "Shigekix" Nakarai, Japan's flag bearers for the Opening Ceremony of the Paris Olympics, and other members of Japan's Olympic delegation attend a send-off ceremony at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium on July 5, 2024. (KYODO)

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With less than a month until the start of the Paris Olympics, ceremonies big and small are taking place around the world.

Athletes representing a hometown or a university, for example, are celebrated with send-off ceremonies. Larger gatherings for full national Olympic contingents are also held.

The Japanese Olympic Committee held an official ceremony for the nation's delegation for the 2024 Paris Olympics on Friday, July 5 at Yoyogi National Gymnasium No 2.

At the venerable sports complex, which held competitions during the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko were among the dignitaries on hand to pay their respects to Japan's Paris-bound Olympians.

Crown Prince Akishino spoke to the assembled crowd of athletes, offering them words of encouragement during the ceremony.

"I hope you will be able to fully demonstrate [in Paris] what you achieve daily," the Crown Prince was quoted as saying by The Yomiuri Shimbun. "It is my wish that you deepen exchanges with other athletes gathering from around the world and promote international goodwill."

Team Japan's chef de mission Mitsugi Ogata's remarks provided a contrast to the pandemic restrictions in place before the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and ceremonies held in the nation's capital on Friday.

"We had to hold the send-off celebrations online three years ago," Ogata was quoted as saying by Agence France-Presse. "So I'm really grateful that we were able to have so many people giving us their support today."

Representing Japan at the Paris Olympics

Japan is planning to send a national delegation of more than 400 athletes to the Paris Olympics. It will be the nation's largest Olympic delegation sent overseas for an Olympic Games, surpassing the 339 who traveled to the 2008 Beijing Games.

For the Paris Games, Japan's flag bearers for the Opening Ceremony on July 26 will be sabre fencer Misaki Emura, a two-time world champion, and Shigeyuki "Shigekix" Nakarai, who'll participate in the new Olympic sport of breaking (breakdancing).

Emura insisted that being selected as a flag bearer, one who'll also aim to vie for a medal, is a role that she'll take very seriously.

"I'll be aware of my responsibility as a representative of the country and fight fair until the end," Emura said, according to Kyodo News.

Lofty Ambitions for the Paris Olympics

Also on Friday, a later event to honor Team Japan before the Paris Olympics was held at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, with a large number of elementary school and junior high school students among the attendees. There was an announced crowd of 6,000 spectators.

Wrestling standout Akari Fujinami, who competes in the women's 53-kg freestyle weight class, said having a focused physical and mental mindset is essential to success at the Paris Games, where she is determined to win her first Olympic gold medal.

"I want to balance my mind, technique, and body, and compete in the best condition, and definitely win the gold medal," Fujinami was quoted as saying by Nikkan Sports after the later event at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.

Tatsuru Saito is another Japanese athlete with the greatest of ambitions for the Paris Olympics. The 22-year-old judoka, son of the late two-time Olympic gold medalist Hitoshi Saito (1984, '88), has expressed the goal of achieving what his father first accomplished 40 years ago.

"At the Paris Olympics I want to stand in the place where my father once stood," Saito told Agence France-Press in a recent interview.

Saito is coming off a first-place finish at the Lima Panamerican Open in June.

Continue reading the full story, which includes news items on basketball, baseball, tennis, fishing and more, on SportsLook.

Author: Ed Odeven

Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.