<figure id="attachment_383365" class="wp-caption alignnone" style="width: 1280px;" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-383365"><a href="#" data-ident_hash="de4789d9"><img src="https://res.cloudinary.com/fridaydigital/image/private/t_article_image/wpmedia/2024/07/dc10ab930e02f92652a5275774075322.jpg" alt=""></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-383365" class="wp-caption-text">Born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1991, she became the first Japanese female swimmer to win three medals in a single Olympic Games at the London 2012 Olympics. However, she did not advance past the semifinals in the 100m breaststroke at the Rio 2016 Olympics and missed out on competing in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.</figcaption></figure>
Satomi Suzuki (33, from Mikihouse), Japan’s representative in competitive swimming for the Paris Olympics, is in excellent form before the opening of the Games.
The turning point was the Japan Open in December 2022.
&#8220;At that time, I wasn&#8217;t achieving good times at all. I realized that if things continued like this, it wouldn’t be good.&#8221;
For a competitive swimmer, changing one&#8217;s stroke technique is a significant gamble with inherent risks. However, shifting from a large stroke to a faster tempo resulted in noticeable improvements.
&#8220;(The training intensity increased) and initially, it was incredibly tough and exhausting. But as I continued, my body gradually adapted, and I started to think, ‘This might work,’ and could try things more proactively.&#8221;
In the 100m breaststroke, she set a personal best of under 1 minute 5 seconds at the Olympic trials in March this year. She also revealed that she changed her wall push-off technique in late June.
&#8220;I thought that spreading my legs a little might help with a stronger push, so I’ve been working on that recently (laughs). Am I anxious? In my case, if I hesitate to incorporate changes, I won’t make progress.&#8221;
There’s also talk about her being the oldest swimmer at 33 to compete in the Olympics, but she laughs it off, saying, &#8220;I’m not thinking about that at all. I’ve been focused solely on surpassing my own records.&#8221;
Her goal is self-improvement. If she can set a new personal best in Paris, it wouldn’t be surprising to see any result.
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From the July 26 and August 2 combined issue of FRIDAY.
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 Masao Kurihara

 Tsutomu Kishimoto/PICSPORT

 Satomi Suzuki, Japan's representative for the Paris Olympics, is in great shape before the start of the games. The key to her success was the Japan Open in 2010. Suzuki, who has improved her form and has a chance to win, talks about her enthusiasm for her first Olympics as the oldest Japanese swimmer in history and the first in two Olympics.

Satomi Suzuki on Embracing Change to Progress

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