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

Hitomi Nakajima

Graduated from Shukugawa Gakuin High School (now Shukugawa High School), Sonoda Gakuen Women's University (now Sonoda Gakuen University). Since 2018, she has been a member of Hasegawa Sports Facilities. She started hurdles in the second year of junior high school and won All-Japan Junior High School Championships in just one year. In high school, she won the JAPAN GAMES and Japan youth championships in her second year, but in her third year, she fell ill and missed the Inter-High School Championships. Since then, she has continued to compete with universities and business teams but has been in a slump for a long time. In 2022, she advanced to the final of the Japan Championships for the first time and finished fourth. At the All-Japan Business Team in September 2024, she marked her first 12-second mark. In the following season, she evolved to update her personal best every time she runs. At the WA Athletics Motonet GP held in Finland in July, she broke the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 Participation Standard Record (12.73) with a record of 12.71, the second highest in Japanese history. In 2025, when her ability has finally blossomed, she is now a hurdler that is attracting a lot of attention.

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Wakamatsu Yuzu

Deaf Basketball

Tamaki Ito

Deaf Beach Volleyball

Wakamatsu Yuzu

She was diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss when she was in elementary school and lives with hearing aids. She started playing basketball in elementary school, went on to Chiba Eiwa high school, and Edogawa University, which were both powerhouse schools. After becoming a member of society, she discovered Deaf basketball, and at the age of 29, she was selected to represent the Tokyo 2025 Deaf Basketball Women's Japan National Team. At the 2024 Asia-Pacific Deaf Basketball Championship held in Melbourne, Australia, she led the team as a point guard and contributed significantly to the victory. She also won the tournament MVP and is motivated to win her first gold medal at the upcoming Deaflympics.

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Yuzu Wakamatsu, Deaf Basketball｜Time to go to the silent court after overcoming frustration

Since she discovered basketball, Yuzu Wakamatsu has been pushing forward for more than 20 years. Although she went to a powerhouse school in each category, the road was not smooth for her. The world of Deaf basketball that she jumped into after becoming a member of society. In the Deaflympics, which will be her first stage, she will aim to win a gold medal as a leader to inspire the team. She hates losing and has a greater sense of responsibility than others. What is her basketball life and her thoughts on Deaf basketball?

Hitomi Nakajima, Track and field athlete｜To the people who changed me when I felt empty

There are athletes competing at the highest level in history, and the women's 100m hurdles show unprecedented excitement. Hitomi Nakajima is the late blooming new heroine who is 30 years old this year.
When she was in junior high school, she won the All-Japan Junior High School Championships, but in high school, she contracted stress gastroenteritis due to pressure and missed the Inter-High School Championships. Nakajima, who says her track and field life was "empty" started again at the 2022 Japan Championships, where she finished fourth. From then on, she continued to update her personal best until this season and finally broke the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 Participation Standard Record with a time of 12.71 in July.
What was behind this rapid progress? What supported and changed her as she ran away from winning and losing? We asked her about her turbulent journey so far and her thoughts on the world in front of her.

Ririka Hironaka, Track and field athlete｜One year that almost stopped. Another “aggressive running” beyond what she has overcome.

It is only on the big stage of the Olympics and World Athletics Championships that she achieves results. Her racing style to actively move forward without being afraid even in world competitions and showing her tenacity at the end of the race. That represents Ririka Hironaka. However, last year, she was forced to take a long absence from competitive activities due to injury, and she was unable to participate in the Paris 2024 Olympics. This season, she is looking ahead to the upcoming World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025. She seemed to have become a little stronger again when she strongly said, "It's because of that time that I am who I am now". What is the journey up until now, and what are her thoughts on the World Championship for the first time in two years?

Masatora Kawano, Track and field athlete | A race walking life that started from the bottom. To the top of the world again with “90% immersion” and “10% bird’s-eye view”

"I am definitely not cut out for this" - Masatora Kawano felt that way when he finished last in his first race walking competition in high school. However, when he was able to advance to the prefectural tournament, his life began to move in a big way. He has experienced World Athletics and the Olympics and set a new world record in October 2024 in the 35km race walk. The man who “started from the bottom” and rose to the top of the world is next looking ahead to the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25. We asked Masatora Kawano who describes the championships as a “battle stage” about his determination kept under his chest.

Ko Ochiai, Track and field athlete | The current position of his unprecedented challenges that began with the new Japanese record

Inter High School Championship in July 2024. Ko Ochiai, who was a third-year student at Shiga Gakuen High School at the time, set a new Japanese record of 1:44.80 in the men's 800m and made headlines. His impressive run, which was far from that of a high school student, broke the previous record by nearly one second, and had a vivid impact on the whole country.
The middle-distance runner aiming for the world chose the "Ggoat" athlete project for his next stage, led by General Manager Hiroaki Oyagi, who is a great leader in the Ekiden world.
What does the 18-year-old, who has embarked on an unprecedented challenge, feel now, and where is he looking at in the future? He talked about his reasons for entering Komazawa University and his strong desire to devote himself to the world.