About Toyo University Students Participating in the Games
Rio Shirai
Hyogo Prefectural Takarazuka Higashi High School graduate
4th year student, Department of International Tourism Studies, Faculty of International Tourism Management
Sport/Event: Swimming, Women’s 4×200m Free Relay
Event dates: July 28 and 29
Profile
Taking advantage of her big, powerful strokes, Shirai specializes in the backstroke and freestyle. Beginning swimming at the age of two, Shirai was chosen for the Japanese national team in her first year at Toyo University and featured in the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships. She reached the final as a member of the women’s 4×200m team and set a new Japan record, with the team finishing in fourth place. At the 2019 World Championships, she became the first Japanese female athlete to reach the final of the 200m Freestyle. Thanks to her performance, Japan earned Olympic berth in two Relay events. Subsequently, at the Olympic trials, Shirai came in second in the 200m Freestyle and was chosen to a member of the Women’s 4×200m Free Relay at the Tokyo Games, the first time she was chosen for the Japan Olympic Team.
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It feels unreal to be fulfilling my dream of participating in the Olympics. Even when it was decided that the Tokyo Games would be postponed, I didn't want to waste my efforts until now and worked hard in training. But I wasn’t able to produce the results I wanted at the Japan Open two months before the Olympic trials. Wanting to give my all but not being able to was tough, and I didn’t want to accept that version of myself. So my swimming was unstable for a while. However, thanks to coach Norimasa Hirai encouraging me to face my troubles head-on, I was able to recover by changing my mindset to start afresh. All the experiences in my swimming life have turned out to be positive. ▶About Natsumi Sakai |
Natsumi Sakai
Saitama Prefecture, Bunan Senior High School graduate
2nd year student, Department of Business Law, Faculty of Law
Sport/Event: Swimming, Women’s 4×100m Free Relay
Event dates: July 24 and 25
Profile
Focused on the backstroke, Sakai has a relaxed swimming style with large strokes that makes use of her height. Sakai started swimming at the age of six, influenced by her older brother. As a sixth-grader at elementary school, she won the 50m and 100m Backstroke in the JOC Junior Olympic Cup (Spring). Sakai participated in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games as the youngest member of the Japanese Olympic Team at the age of 15. In the 2018 Asian Games, she won gold in the 100m Backstroke, and in the 2020 Japan Championships, she dominated two backstroke events and also won the 100m Freestyle for the first time. Thanks to her impressive performance in the 100m Freestyle Sakai came in second at the Olympic Trial, and secured her place as a member of the Women’s 4×100m Free Relay at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
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With the impact of COVID-19, I couldn’t train as I Many games were held without spectators and there were times where I wasn’t able to approach training with a perfect mental state. But I took the positive attitude of “If I am going to do it, I want to produce results!” and continued my training. Many things that were commonplace until now have gone away, but it is thanks to this new situation that I am currently able to swim with more gratitude than before. About six months ago, I joined a team made up of Japan’s best swimmers coached by Norimasa Hirai. I am giving it my all every day while being inspired by my senior teammates. ▶About Rio Shirai |