Olympics TOKYO 2020 東京五輪2020
OLYMPICS/ Tokyo holds 1-day gym meet to show Games may be possible 五輪「どうしたらできるか」考えて
2020/11/09 The Asahi Shimbun
Gymnastics: Japan's Kohei Uchimura books ticket to 4th Olympics
2021/06/06 Mainichi Japan
GYMNASTICS/ Kohei Uchimura headed to fourth Olympics in horizontal bar
2021/06/06 The Asahi Shimbun
内村「演技以外にも役割がある」…特別な舞台「東京五輪」へ
2021/06/06 読売新聞オンライン
内村 笑顔は五輪で...鉄棒 決勝失敗「ダメです」
2021/06/07 読売新聞オンライン
Japan's Kohei Uchimura out of Olympics after horizontal bars flop
2021/07/24/ the Japantimes
Uchimura’s Olympic-ending fall clouds bright start for Japanese gymnasts
2021/07/24/ the Japantimes
Japan’s all-around champion Hashimoto wins horizontal bar gold
2021/08/03/ the Japantimes
OLYMPICS/ Tokyo holds 1-day gym meet to show Games may be possible
The Asahi Shimbun Nov 9, 2020 (Original Article)
The good news for the Tokyo Olympics is that Japan on Sunday held a one-day exhibition gymnastics meet in front of several thousand fans with 22 athletes participating from Russia, China and the United States.
They were joined by eight from Japan.
The non-Japanese entered after a 14-day quarantine at home and were largely kept penned up in their Tokyo hotel in strict isolation. They also underwent PCR tests daily in Japan.
The event is the latest--a Japanese baseball stadium was filled to capacity last week--intended to show that the postponed Tokyo Olympics can open in just under nine months.
But there are more difficult numbers that the Olympics must overcome.
Next year’s Games will involve 11,000 athletes from 206 nations and territories, all affected differently by COVID-19. Add to this 4,400 more Paralympians and thousands more officials, judges, VIPs, media, broadcasters and sponsors who will also need to enter Japan.
Will tens of thousands of non-Japanese fans be allowed to attend, or will the Games be for only Japanese spectators?
Tokyo organizers and the International Olympic Committee have given few details and concrete plans are not expected until next year when a vaccine and rapid testing might be available to resolve some problems.
Kohei Uchimura, Japan’s three-time Olympic gold medal gymnast, set out the problem very clearly after Sunday’s exhibition meet.
“Unfortunately, 80 percent of the Japanese don’t believe that the Tokyo Olympics can take place as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said, speaking after the meet in Japanese on a public-address system to fans in the Yoyogi National Stadium. He was also addressing his fellow athletes.
“I know it is natural to think this way,” he added. “But I would like people to change their minds from: We can’t hold the Olympics to how can we do it?”
Uchimura pointed out that many athletes had not been able to practice and many have gone the entire year without any competition.
If the Olympics happen, these will not be Olympics like any other. Rules will be strict. Travel will be limited. And despite all the precautions, some athletes are bound to get COVID-19 and be removed from the competition. IOC President Thomas Bach and Vice President John Coates have acknowledged this.
Fans entering the stadium, which was the venue for swimming in the ‘64 Olympics, had temperatures taken and hands sanitized. Seating was spread out and everyone wore masks, a standard practice everywhere in Japan. And cheering was not allowed.
“My only problem is my life inside the hotel,” Angelina Melnikova, who won silver at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, said before the meet. “I was surprised that I couldn’t walk freely--even inside the hotel. I wanted to have a tour of Tokyo. But it’s impossible to do that this time. I totally understand.”
Japan is officially spending $12.6 billion to organize the Olympics, although a government audit last year said it was twice that much. All but $5.6 billion is public money.
Over and above this, estimates suggest the postponement will cost another $2 billion to $3 billion. The University of Oxford published a study in September showing these are the most expensive Summer Olympics on record.
Just over 1,800 people in Japan have died from COVID-19. Japan has controlled the virus better than most, although Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga warned Friday of a resurgence of the coronavirus in Japan. The northernmost island of Hokkaido also raised warning levels last week.
2020年 今年の言葉 国内編
2020/12/30 読売新聞オンライン 《記事の抜粋》
五輪「どうしたらできるか」考えて
体操・国際競技会「友情と絆の大会」。閉会式であいさつする内村航平。
2020年11月8日 体操男子の内村航平「(東京五輪開催を)『できないのでは』ではなく、『どうやったらできるか』と考えてほしい。大変なことであるのは承知の上で、それでも国民の皆さんとアスリートが同じ気持ちでないと大会はできない」(体操の国際競技会で)
Gymnastics: Japan's Kohei Uchimura books ticket to 4th Olympics
June 6, 2021 Mainichi Japan (Original Articlei)
Kohei Uchimura executes the Bretschneider in the horizontal bar final at the national apparatus championships on June 6, 2021, at Takasaki Arena in Gunma Prefecture, eastern Japan. (Kyodo)
TAKASAKI, Gunma (Kyodo) -- Japan's three-time Olympic champion Kohei Uchimura will compete in his fourth Olympics this summer in Tokyo after earning selection on Sunday through a points-based qualification system for individual events.
Uchimura grabbed the host nation's only spot for the individual apparatus events at the Tokyo Olympics, which will open on July 23, following a second-place finish on Sunday in the horizontal bars at the national apparatus championships at Takasaki Arena.
"I thought I didn't have a chance of going to the Olympics after I landed," said Uchimura, who earned 15.100 points for his routine after making an error.
"So even though I'm told I can go, it makes me wonder if I really deserve to go, rather than being happy."
Uchimura has focused on the individual horizontal bar event at the Olympics instead of defending his titles in the team event and the individual all-around competition, consisting of six apparatuses, due to his recent fitness struggles, and to improve his chances of competing in Tokyo.
He finished the qualification race ahead of Hidenobu Yonekura, who was gunning for his maiden Olympic berth in the vault. The Japan Gymnastics Association implemented a point system covering three tournaments that doubled as qualifiers held since April.
The gymnastics association also named 18-year-old Takeru Kitazono, who won five gold medals at the 2018 Youth Olympics, and Wataru Tanigawa to compete in the Olympic team event.
They will join Daiki Hashimoto, who won May's NHK Cup, and Kazuma Kaya in Japan's four-member team for the Tokyo Games, which were postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. None of the gymnasts of Japan's gold-winning Rio Olympic squad was named for the event.
Performing in front of spectators, Uchimura opened with a highly difficult "Bretschneider" move but made a mistake in one of the elements, a day after nailing a flawless routine in the preliminaries and leading Yonekura in Olympic qualification points.
The national horizontal bar event was won by Hashimoto, who scored 15.133.
"It was no good. I wanted to nail the Olympic berth with a solid performance, so I feel very sorry for Yonekura," Uchimura said.
Uchimura made his Olympic debut at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he finished with a silver in the individual all-around event. He won the event at the 2012 London Games and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
However, he struggled with fitness following the 2016 Games, and his winning streak at all-around events was snapped at 40 after he withdrew from the 2017 world championships due to a left ankle injury.
Also troubled by shoulder pain, Uchimura in 2019 said qualifying for the Tokyo Olympics was a pipe dream. He has been specializing in the horizontal bars, his strongest apparatus, since last year.
GYMNASTICS/ Kohei Uchimura headed to fourth Olympics in horizontal bar
(The Asahi Shimbun June 6, 2021(Original Article)
Gymnast Kohei Uchimura, a three-time Olympic gold medalist, is headed for
his fourth straight Olympic Games after clinching a place on the national
team on Sunday with a tie-breaking point.
Uchimura, 32, long so dominant in the sport he's been known as "King Kohei," has opted this time to only compete in the horizontal bar to give his battered body a break, meaning he will not be taking part in the all-around competitions he once ruled.
The holder of a total of seven Olympic medals, at the 2016 Rio Summer Games he became the first male gymnast in 44 years to win back-to-back Olympic all-around titles. He also led the Japanese team to gold.
But injuries caught up with him in recent years and he struggled to stay in shape. He eventually made the decision to concentrate on the horizontal bar alone in order to clinch an Olympic spot, although he confessed that the choice was hard and part of him still wanted to compete on other apparatus.
Squeaking through after being awarded a tiebreaking point, Uchimura said his feelings were complicated.
"My performance wasn't really one I could accept, and when I finished I thought I wouldn't be going to the Olympics. But when I was told I would, more than being happy I was thinking 'is this really okay?'" he told a post-match news conference.
"I don't feel that after today's performance, I really deserve to be called 'King.' I'll really need to practice before the Olympics," he added.
"It was really hard for me, as such an old man, to perform after the New Generation," he said, referring to fellow team mates roughly a decade his junior. "I may not be part of the all-around team effort but there's still things I can contribute due to my experience."
内村「演技以外にも役割がある」…特別な舞台「東京五輪」へ
2021/06/06 読売新聞オンライン
演技以外にも役割がある」――。6日の体操・全日本種目別選手権(群馬・高崎アリーナ)の鉄棒で東京五輪出場を決めた元男子世界王者の内村航平選手(32)(ジョイカル)は、真剣な表情で語った。心は体操の、スポーツの力を社会に示す使命感で満たされていた。
東京五輪・パラのボランティア全員にワクチン接種検討…丸川五輪相
表彰式を終え、関係者らと記念撮影に納まる内村航平選手(中央)(6日、群馬県高崎市の高崎アリーナで)=三浦邦彦撮影
個人総合と団体総合を制した2016年リオデジャネイロ五輪後、けがで苦しんだ。引退もちらつく中、現役を続けた理由は「『特別』としか言いようがない」とする自国開催の東京五輪の存在だった。
11年3月、東日本大震災が発生し、同年10月に世界選手権が東京で開かれた。個人総合3連覇を果たした内村選手は、被災者らから声をかけられたという。「『勇気をもらいました』という言葉をいただいた。自分たちがやっていることは、社会に光を与えられるんだと知りました」。困難に立ち向かう姿は人の心に響くと信じているから昨年11月、「(新型コロナウイルスで五輪が)『できない』ではなく、『どうやったらできるか』と考えてほしい」と呼びかけた。
「経験を下の代に伝えていかなきゃならない」と内村選手。約1か月半後、これまでよりも深い意味を持つ特別な舞台に立つ。
内村 笑顔は五輪で...鉄棒 決勝失敗「ダメです」
2021/06/07 読売新聞オンライン
選考レース 強さ示した
男子鉄棒で2位となった内村航平の演技=代表撮影
五輪出場が決まった直後、内村は会場インタビューで「もうね、ダメです」と切り出した。連戦の疲れもあったのか、鉄棒の決勝でまさかの失敗。常に完璧な演技を求めているだけに、「うれしいというより『これでいいんだろうか』という思い」と反省の弁は止まらなかった。
冒頭の見せ場であるH難度の「ブレトシュナイダー」は成功。立て続けに手放し技を決めたが、中盤のひねり技で演技が停滞する大きなミス。着地は止めたものの、笑顔はなかった。
ただ、4月からの厳しい代表選考レースを通じて「内村健在」は国内外に十分、伝わった。日本体操協会の設定した基準は「限りなく金メダルに近い選手」(水鳥寿思・男子強化本部長)を選ぶためのもの。内村は5度の演技機会で、世界でトップクラスの得点を並べ続けた。
前日の予選は、今季自己最高の15・766点。このうち、出来栄えを示すE得点は、現行ルールであまり見かけなくなった9点台に乗せた。美しく正確な体操は、今も色あせていない。
「きょうの鉄棒じゃ、レジェンドとかキングとか言えない」と振り返るのも、衰えない向上心の表れ。次に理想を体現するのは、五輪本番の舞台だ。(増田剛士)
Japan's Kohei Uchimura out of Olympics after horizontal bars flop
2021/07/24/ the Japantimes
Kohei Uchimura, the all-around 2012 and 2016 Olympic champion, lost his grip during his horizontal bars routine and failed to make next week's final.
The reign of Japan's "King Kohei" Uchimura, two-time Olympic all-around champion and holder of seven Olympic medals, came to an abrupt end on Saturday when he failed to qualify for the finals and said he could no longer perform as he once did.
At his peak, Uchimura, 32, was one of the best male gymnasts of all time, winning every world and Olympic all-around title from 2009 to 2016 and becoming the first man in 44 years to top the individual all-around podium in back-to-back Olympics with a nail-biting final in Rio 2016.
But age and injury took their toll, and Uchimura, known for his focus on "beauty in motion" and steely resolve towards training, decided late in 2019 to concentrate only on the horizontal bar to have a chance at making the team for his fourth Olympics – one held at home.
On Saturday, the man once known as "Supermura" and "extraterrestrial" was going strong when he suddenly fell and crashed to the floor. He got up and restarted his routine, but the writing was on the wall and he was grim as he finished and left the floor, returning later to watch the rest of the team.
"I don't want to look back on my performance because I failed," he told reporters later.
"In the last three Olympics I took part in, I was always able to bring out in competition what I practiced, but I can't do that anymore," he added.
"I'm past my peak, I just have to accept that calmly." He declined to say whether this was his final competition, saying he would have to "think about it." The gymnastics world championships are set to be held in Japan later this year.
Born into a family of competitive gymnasts — his mother competed in the masters category as recently as 2020 at age 56 — Uchimura began training at three on a trampoline his parents acquired from the United States.
Coming last in his first-ever competition ignited a ferocious appetite for hard work and a strict training regime that included visualizing techniques as drawings in a notebook.
"When I was little, I would get nervous and blank out sometimes," Uchimura once told the Asahi Shimbun daily. "But when I was in high school I thought I could fly if I tried hard enough." After moving to Tokyo as a teenager to train, Uchimura first made the national team in 2007 and was chosen for the Beijing 2008 Olympics at 19, helping the team to all-around silver and earning all-around silver himself, the first of his seven Olympic medals.
But as injuries crept up on him he couldn't even make the national team two years ago and said on Saturday "that was the bottom of the bottom for me."
He recently told Japanese media that after his deceased coach came to him in a dream and recommended he concentrate on just the horizontal bar, he changed his focus and found his shoulder pain "miraculously disappeared." Still, he barely squeaked through to Japan's Olympic team earlier this year in a tie-breaker after which he ruefully referred to himself as an "old fogey" compared to his teammates, some of them a decade younger, but said he hoped he still had a role to play for them by offering advice and support.
On Saturday, the team — all of them Olympic novices — ended up in first place after two subdivisions had performed, edging ahead of powerhouses Russia and China.
"They're just amazing. For their first Olympics, they're almost too amazing for words," Uchimura said.
"When I came back to the floor after my performance, they were getting together, discussing things and solving problems by themselves. I don't think I'm needed by them anymore."
Uchimura’s Olympic-ending fall clouds bright start for Japanese gymnasts
2021/07/24/ the Japantimes
Original Article
Tokyo, Japan | AFP by Nick REEVES
Japanese gymnastics star Kohei Uchimura crashed out of the Tokyo Games on day one Saturday when he was eliminated from the horizontal bar competition to dash his dream of ending his decorated career with a fourth Olympic gold.
The all-around 2012 and 2016 Olympic champion’s crash landing stole unwanted headlines in a men’s qualifying session where Japan kept China and Russia at bay ahead of Monday’s defence of their team title.
Uchimura, part of that gold-medal winning unit in Rio, lost his grip during his routine and failed to qualify for next week’s final.
“In the last three Olympic Games I’ve been able to match the level of performance I’d reached in training -- but not this time,” a dejected Uchimura said.
“I think I’ve reached my peak, even getting selected for the Japanese team was hard enough this time.”
He left the door open for one more shot at going out on a high -- the world championships are in Japan in October -- when he suggested: “It may not be my last competition.”
“Let me think about it when I go back tonight,” he told media after the sad turn of events witnessed by 12,000 empty seats at the Ariake Centre.
The 32-year-old chose not to go for a third successive all-around title following persistent shoulder problems.
And he revealed: “I was at the lowest of the low when I was injured so I can’t be that disappointed now.”
Regarded as one of the greatest gymnasts of all time, “King Kohei” also has 10 world titles.
He was penalised for his fall, picking up just 13.866 points, robbing him of the chance to end his career in style on home soil.
After his premature return to earth from the 2.8 metres-high bar, Uchimura was provided with the perfect antidote to his misfortune by his compatriots - Olympic debutants all.
‘I wasn’t needed’
But while hailing their “great” performance he noted wistfully: “After I finished the horizontal bar and came back to the arena to watch, I saw them sorting out their problems on their own. I felt I wasn’t needed anymore.”
After scraping through to get onto the Japanese team, Uchimura had been revelling in competing at the pandemic-delayed 2020 Games.
After training this week he said: “I love it, especially because it’s in Japan. This is my fourth Olympics, and this is probably the best one yet.”
After a challenging routine it all went horribly wrong though when he lost his grip, crashing to the mattress and walking off the Olympic stage for the last time.
He had etched his name into Olympic history at the Rio Games in 2016, becoming the first male gymnast in 44 years to retain his all-around title.
And leading Japan to the team gold in Brazil cemented his place as one of his country’s most revered athletes.
Uchimura has struggled with injuries since Rio, rating his prospect of making it to Tokyo “a fairytale” in 2019.
The gymnast, who recently described himself as “an ancient fossil” in relation to his younger teammates, had taken radical action, dropping every event but the horizontal bar -- he was a surprise late entry for the parallel bars but did not take up the option.
Japan’s all-around champion Hashimoto wins horizontal bar gold
2021/08/03/ the Japantimes
Japan’s all-around champion Daiki Hashimoto won horizontal bar gold for his third medal at the Olympic Games on Tuesday.
The 19-year-old from the Tokyo suburbs has seamlessly taken over the baton from Kohei Uchimura, the Japanese all-around champion in London 2012 and 2016 who retired after failing to qualify for the horizontal bars last week.
Hashimoto followed up his all-around title and team silver with a score of 15.066 to beat Croat Tin Srbic, with Russian team gold medallist Nikita Nagornyy in bronze.