Sports

[JAPAN SPORTS NOTEBOOK] Mina Sato Brings Enthusiasm and Hunger for Success to Keirin

Bursting with energy and speed, the 23-year-old is building an impressive résumé, including back-to-back silver medals at the world championships.

Published

2 years ago

October 23, 2022

Ed Odeven

Mina Sato competes in the women's keirin final at the 2022 UCI Track Cycling World Championships on October 16 in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France. (Japan Keirin Association/via KYODO)

This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website.

Decades ago, the American comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello weighed in on a universal longing: having a purpose in life. They choose a specific word ("niche," pronounced by many as nee-sh, and by others like "rich" but with a different consonant at the start) to lightheartedly make their point.

The two men's dialogue on their popular 1940s radio show brings to mind 23-year-old keirin cyclist Mina Sato's career to date, which includes back-to-back silver medals in the women's final at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships.

Abbott: "If you're lucky, you'll find your proper niche in life."

Costello: "You're right. Why, if I can find my ― What will I find?"

Abbott: "A niche, a niche. You'll find a niche."

Costello: "Abbott, when I find an itch, I scratch it!"

Abbott: "No, no, I'm talking about a niche in life. A niche is what everyone is looking for. Anyone who is successful has found a niche."

Sato finished runner-up in the aforementioned tournament on Sunday, October 16 in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France, near Paris. She placed 0.042 seconds behind German champion Lea Friedrich in the final.

Read the full story on SportsLook.

Author: Ed Odeven

Follow Ed on JAPAN Forward's [Japan Sports Notebook] here on Sundays, in [Odds and Evens] here during the week, and Twitter ＠ed_odeven, and find him on JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website, SportsLook.