<figure id="attachment_375251" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 2540px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-375251"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="825fcd21"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/05/b0deeb7c06d4748b0f8e31f7bfdb63fe.jpeg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-375251" class="wp-caption-text"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Kinukawa, aiming for the world in both track and cosplay.</span></figcaption></figure>
<p>Ai Kinugawa, 34, a former member of the World Athletics Team, is a &#8220;beautiful athlete&#8221; who was plagued by repeated injuries and intractable diseases while achieving high school and junior high school results that caught everyone&#8217;s attention. Following the article &#8221; <a href="https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/article/375244">Part 1: The Hellish Days of Ai Kinugawa&#8217;s Career as a Top Cosplayer,</a> &#8221; which introduced her struggles and suffering as an athlete, we would like to reveal the reason for her dramatic transformation into a top cosplayer and her third life, in her own words.</p>
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<p><b>&#8220;I was aiming for the London Olympics in August &#8217;12, but I was once again plagued by injuries, such as my Achilles tendon. I underwent surgery, but I couldn&#8217;t quite return to my original form. When I failed to qualify for the national team, I lost my goal and felt quite depressed.</b></p>
<p><b>I am fiercely competitive and somewhat moody. My desire to win is stronger than most people&#8217;s. However, if I can&#8217;t be the best in the world anymore due to injuries, there&#8217;s nothing I can do about it. I felt like I was done with track and field. I left Mizuno, where I was affiliated, on March &#8217;15.&#8221;</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Having withdrawn from track and field, feeling liberated from the pressure, Kinukawa. gradually began to lose sight of herself. She didn&#8217;t know how to navigate her second life.</span></p>
<p><b>&#8220;Since middle school, I had only done track and field. I didn&#8217;t even know how to buy a train ticket. Even when I considered part-time work, I didn&#8217;t know how to write a resume. I spent about six months to a year wondering what I should do from now on.&#8221;</b></p>
<h2><b>Always talking about athletes.</b></h2>
<figure id="attachment_375485" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4560px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-375485"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="10382c50"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/06/c93353d4faf46329872551e11464bbcc.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-375485" class="wp-caption-text">Becoming a character from the anime &#8220;Wimpy Pedal&#8221;</figcaption></figure>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Even after stepping away from track and field, the people she met continued to bring up topics related to her athletic career. Even though she was no longer a professional athlete. It bothered her that she was only seen as an athlete, and gradually, Kinukawa distanced herself from public appearances.</span></p>
<p><b>&#8220;Occasionally, when I&#8217;m mentioned in the media, they introduce me as a vanished genius. At that time, I was in despair over my situation of being nobody. I wanted to turn away from the painful reality. Every day, I earnestly thought about becoming someone completely different from who I had been.&#8221;</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In Kinukawa&#8217;s mind, there was a world of anime and manga. As a child, she was obsessed with Disney, and during track and field tournaments, half of her suitcase would be filled with manga.</span></p>
<p><b>&#8220;I read manga of all genres, like &#8216;Attack on Titan&#8217; and &#8216;Yowamushi Pedal.&#8217; Besides track and field, manga was my only hobby. Actually, around 2014, while I was still with Mizuno, I admired characters from anime and manga and began cosplaying. Manga saved me. After leaving track and field, I vowed to become a different person, started cross-dressing, and officially began activities as a cosplayer.&#8221;</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Her cosplay name is Renya. From 2021, she consecutively won the Best Costume award in the renowned magazine &#8220;Cosplay Mode&#8221; for two years. Posting various cosplay photos on her X (former Twitter) account quickly garnered over 20,000 followers. </span></p>
<div data-friday-nextpage-lead="Why he revealed himself."></div>
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<figure id="attachment_375473" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 4560px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-375473"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="398eb85d"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/06/210f04435ec3bb761e602f68372ce8c4.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-375473" class="wp-caption-text">She looks good in men&#8217;s clothes.</figcaption></figure>
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<p><b>&#8220;I had kept the identity of Renya = Kinukawa Ai hidden for about ten years. Initially, when I started cosplaying, I had concerns about prejudice and malicious comments&#8230; However, times have changed. Diversity is recognized, and society&#8217;s perception of anime enthusiasts has drastically shifted. Whether as Renya or Kiwakawa Ai, it&#8217;s all me. There&#8217;s no longer a need to hide. With that determination, I decided to reveal Renya&#8217;s true identity.&#8221;</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On May 7th, Kinukawa announced in the &#8220;Sports Hochi&#8221; that Renya is indeed herself.</span></p>
<p><b>&#8220;The response was tremendous. It was considered taboo in the cosplay community to reveal one&#8217;s real name and face. I was happy that fans, while surprised, warmly supported me. This is now my third phase of life.</b></p>
<p><b>Utilizing my profile as an athlete while engaging as a cosplayer is something only I can do. I want to become a unique cosplayer known to everyone. Whether in cosplay or track and field, I want to aim for the world. I&#8217;ve kept track and field sealed away for ten years, so first, I&#8217;ll ease back into it with events like community marathons to regain the sense of Kinukawa Ai.&#8221;</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Thus far, Kinukawa has personally crafted around 100 cosplay costumes and currently runs about 10 kilometers two to three times a week. The dual-life of the &#8220;beautiful track athlete&#8221; has now fully commenced.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊</span></p>
<p><b>Kinukawa Ai (Megumi Kinukawa)</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Born on August 7, 1989, in Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture. She gained attention as a track athlete from her days at Sendai Ikuei High School, participating twice in the World Athletics Championships. Charismatic and bright, she captivates many fans. She also excels as a cosplayer under the name Renya.</span></p>
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 Hiroyuki Komatsu

 Ai Kinugawa has fascinated her fans as a "beautiful track and field athlete. Since leaving her company in March 2003, she has been away from the public eye. ...... In fact, she turned into a very famous cosplayer. Kinugawa, who has tasted hell, talks about her turbulent life and ambitions (Part 2).

Despair of a Beautiful Track Athlete Ai Kinukawa Who Wishes to Become a Completely Different Person

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