ATHLETE

Meet the Athletes

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

Deaflympics athlete
Athletics athlete

Ryo Ogura

Born deaf, she attended Sakado School for the Deaf in Saitama Prefecture. In high school, she attended a regular school and went on to Daito Bunka University. She started karate at the age of four and won numerous competitions in kata. She also tried kumite when she was in college and has continued to work mainly in kumite since then. She made her debut at the Deaflympics in Caxias do Sul 2022, where she won gold medals in both kata and kumite events. Currently, she works as a teacher at her alma mater, Sakado School for the Deaf, and trains every day with the aim of winning two consecutive events at the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics.

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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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Ryo Ogura, Deaf Karate – Karate-do honed in a soundless world. Winning two events in a row in Tokyo?

Ryo Ogura won the gold medal in both kata and kumite at the last Deaflympics. Her strong gaze, which has risen to the top of the world while participating for the first time, grabs the hearts of viewers and overwhelms them. When Ryo Ogura took off her karate uniform, she showed a soft and fluffy expression that frequently changed. What is the Karate-do that Ryo Ogura with such an adorable turn-on gap should aim for in 2025.

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.