Abe Hifumi and Abe Uta Strike Gold Together at the Paris Olympics!
The two undefeated world champions from the Tokyo Olympics appeared in suits at their alma mater's pep rally!
The date of the final match is July 28, and the stage is the Champ de Mars Arena, which stands close to the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Abe Hifumi (26) and Uta (23, both from Park24) will be aiming for the same day V at this summer’s Paris Olympics, following the Tokyo Olympics. On April 14, after returning home to Kobe, Kazumi, a representative in the men’s 66 kg judo weight class, vowed “an overwhelming V2” in front of 200 people at a pep rally held at his alma mater, Shinko Gakuen High School.
The Tokyo Games were a stage for me to fulfill my dream. I want to focus more on the result and the content in Paris. I want to show the world my attacking judo, and win the championship with an all-Ippon victory.
At international competitions, the women’s 52-kilogram final has always been held before the men’s 66-kilogram final, but in Paris it will be the other way around. To the extent that she will be on the tatami after her brother’s result, she may have to prepare for all kinds of situations. Still, Poet says.
In Tokyo, I didn’t know what the stage of the Olympics would be like. I guess I have a little more mental capacity this time because I have experienced it once before.
If they do not win their second gold medals at the same time, their dream will have been dashed.
My brother has always been ahead of me since I started judo,” she said. I just have to follow the same path. He has always been a reassuring presence.
I first interviewed Kazumi in 2002, when he won the Kodokan Cup in his second year of high school. On the tatami mats, the 17-year-old looked like he was about to take down his elders with his dynamic carrying techniques, such as back-support throws and sleeve-support kotsukomi goshi. The new star who has suddenly appeared in the world of judo revealed that he admires Tadahiro Nomura, 49, who has won three consecutive Olympic championships, and made the following comment: “I don’t think I’ve gone beyond winning three consecutive championships.
Just winning three consecutive Olympic titles does not mean that I have surpassed him. I aim to win four Olympics in a row.
However, he was not selected in time for the Rio ’16 Olympics, and due to the COVID-19 crisis, his first Olympics did not come until seven years later. Even so, the blueprint he had initially envisioned remains the same.
I am still aiming for a fourth consecutive championship, and if I don’t win two in a row, I won’t be able to fulfill that dream. Paris is just a passing point.
