ATHLETE

Meet the Athletes

Get to know the participating world-class athletes, and discover what makes each one of them superhuman.

Athletics athlete
Deaflympics athlete

The photo of Takahashi sitting on the floor grasping her knees

Hitoshi Okumura

Graduated from Tsuruga High School and Kokushikan University. He has joined SENKO Co., Ltd. in April 2023. In addition to setting a junior high school record (17.85m/5kg) in his third year of junior high school, he also won the National Junior High School Athletic Festival with a new tournament record. At Tsuruga High School, he also participated in the Inter-High School Championships in the discus throw. After entering Kokushikan University, his potential blossomed, and he won the Japan Inter-College Meet (All Japan University Track & Field Challenge Meeting) in his fourth year. In 2023, the year after he became a member of society, he won the Japan Championships for the first time and finally became the top in Japan. In 2024, in addition to winning the Japan Championships for the second consecutive time, he won the All-Japan Business Team Championship and the National Sports Tournament to achieve the "National Triple Crown". In August of the same year, he hit an unprecedented 19-meter mark and became the strongest athlete in Japan in both name and reality. In 2025, he will challenge the world with the aim of achieving even greater heights.

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Kodai Hayashi

He attended Omiya Deaf Academy until middle school, and then moved to a regular school from high school to continue playing football. He entered Omiya Higashi High School and Asia University. After that, he signed an athlete contract with Mercari Co., Ltd. Active as a semi-professional football player in Germany from graduation to 2023. After moving to Germany, he won the German Deaf Football Championships and became the first Asian player to take second place in the Deaf Champions League and was selected to the best eleven. In 2023, he became the first runner-up in Deaf Football World Cup in Japanese history. In 2024, he won the All Japan Deaf Football Championships and shined as MVP. Japan's athletic ace is gaining momentum as he prepares for 2025, having led his team to victory for the first time in 12 years at the Asia-Pacific Deaf Games in December.

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Hitoshi Okumura, Athletics – The first Japanese to reach the 20m mark. Big throw to the world that the shot put champion aims for

Hitoshi Okumura, a two-time defending champion in the men's shot put Japan Championships, broke the Japanese record in August 2024 with a mark of 19.09m. The 19m mark is the first for a Japan to achieve this feat. While he has opened the door of history, the current situation is that there is still a big gap between the rest of the world for shot put. In order to throw a block of metal weighing 7.26 kg as far as 1 centimeter, Hitoshi Okumura has been continuing to make trial and error attempts. With a height of 190 cm and a weight of 150 kg, his physique is comparable to that of foreign athletes, but he is inferior in absolute power, and the hurdles he must overcome are high. We asked the 24-year-old, who is taking on the world's toughest athletes, about how he approaches the sport and his thoughts on the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25.

Towa Uzawa, Athletics – A rare “nerdy” sprinter who turns “coincidence” into “inevitability”

Towa Uzawa, who competed in the men's 200m Japan national team at the Paris 2024 Olympics, has turned several "coincidences" into "inevitability" so far. He started track and field as soon as he entered high school because he injured his elbow and couldn't play baseball. Just a year and a half later, he achieved two titles in the 100m and 200m at the Inter-High Championships. As he continued to run, he accumulated the "unprecedented sensations" that he happened to obtain and made them his own. That's how the foundation of the sprinter who made it to the Olympics was laid. He is a 22-year-old "otaku" who loves manga, anime, and games. As the name "Towa" suggests, we will take a closer look at the genius who is about to spread his wings to the world.

Shingo Suetsugu, Athletics – “That’s why I run” The 44-year-old legend enjoys the “real challenge”

"Right now may be the most exciting time". Shingo Suetsugu said this happily, with a gentle smile on his face. At the 2003 World Athletics Championships in Paris, he became the first Japanese to win a bronze medal in the men's 200m in a sprint event. The 44-year-old, who has made a lot of history, including winning the silver medal in the 4x100m relay at the Beijing 2008 Olympics, continues to compete as an active sprinter. He also announced his intention to take on the challenge of competing in the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 held this year. "Run for myself, and not for someone else". What is the new story spun by the legend who holds the Japanese 200m record (20.03 seconds), which has remained unbroken for over 20 years?

Kodai Hayashi, Deaf football – The rebellious spirit of the “first penguin” that paved the way for overseas challenges

As with anything, trying something for the first time comes with risks. People respectfully call people who have the courage to jump into the ocean without fear the "first penguin". Kodai Hayashi, a member of the Japan Deaf Football National Team, has continued to take onA challenges worthy of his name. In 2019, he joined a German club, which was unprecedented for a deaf athlete. In the 2021-22 season, he achieved 22 goals and 10 assists in the 6th division league in which hearing athletes also plays. At the 4th World Deaf Football Championship (Deaf Football World Cup) in 2023, he contributed to the Japan men's national team's highest ever runner-up finish. We asked Kodai Hayashi, who has and will continue to take on challenges, about his thoughts on the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics.

Rachid Muratake, Athletics – “Hurdle seeker” who rewrote history

"I'm basically a stubborn person". Rachid Muratake smiled as he placed 5th in the men's 110m hurdles at the Paris 2024 Olympics, the highest ever ranking for a Japanese men in a short-distance event. His gentle demeanor differs from the image of a seeker. However, his words are powerful: "I like to pursue things with particularity, and I think I can use that personality in my competitions". In recent years, the world of hurdles in Japan has become crowded with talented athletes, and it seems that the best competitors are competing against each other. The 22-year-old, who is at the top of the list, has his sights set on even greater heights after the Olympics.