Judo’s Natsumi Tsunoda Reveals ″Before and After Gold Medal″ “I feel more relief than happiness, I’m glad I kept going”.

Immediately after winning the gold medal in the women’s 48kg judo event at the Paris Olympics, Natsumi Tsunoda (32)’s life changed drastically. While she was performing unfamiliar tasks, such as appearing on TV variety shows, she was increasingly approached by people on the street. She has even received a request for sponsorship from a company that sells a “quick thinking tape” that she applies to her temples during games.

I’m still kind of going with the flow,” he said. Rather than wanting to become famous myself, I strongly felt that I wanted to be recognized as a judoka. Athletes have a strong desire for approval, don’t they (laughs)? The repercussions of an Olympic gold medal are different in scale from those of a world championship.

Top judo athletes are divided into several strong schools, including Tokai University, Kokushikan University, and Tenri University, but Kakuta is a graduate of Tokyo Gakugei University, a national university. The Judo Club at Tokyo Gakugei University is small and practice time is short, so Kakuta practiced Newaza in his free time and repeatedly went to dojos of other sports, such as jujitsu, to establish a winning pattern of throwing from Tomoe nage to arm joints.

He said, “Unlike judo, which is divided into standing and newaza, jujutsu involves standing and sleeping, and standing and newaza are considered in conjunction with each other. That’s what made it a good match for me.

At the previous Tokyo Olympics, Kakuta was aiming to represent Japan in the 52kg weight class. In the same weight class is Abe Uta (24), a star in the Japanese judo world who is eight years younger than Kakuta. Abe Uta was not good at Kakuta’s Newaza, and Kakuta’s winning percentage was higher than Abe Uta’s, but Kakuta was not a good match for Ai Shime (30), and Abe Uta won the three-way competition for the national team.

I think that Poet was under a lot of pressure even then, but I myself felt threatened by the fact that she was getting stronger with each fight,” said Abe.

A 4kg difference in weight after dropping down a weight class

Kakuta considered the Tokyo Olympics a milestone in her judo career. Considering my age, I thought it would be difficult to compete in Paris. However, after losing the national team competition, he decided to change weight classes and aim for Paris. Instead of increasing her weight, she switched to the 48kg weight class, where she would have to deal with weight loss difficulties.

When I was in the 52kg weight class, I hardly had to lose any weight, and sometimes I fought at around 51kg on the day of a match. So I took the plunge and dropped down a weight class, and the 4 kg difference was even bigger than I had imagined.

In judo, where competitors are separated by weight, competitors have to get their bodies down to the prescribed weight by the weigh-in the day before the match.

In judo, the competitors compete in weight categories, and before competing against their opponents, the competitors have to get their bodies down to the specified weight by the weigh-in on the day before the competition. Weight loss means that after dropping to the prescribed weight at the weigh-in the day before, the fighter must gain some weight before the next day’s match. If you are on a severe weight loss program, even if you eat a meal after the weigh-in, your stomach gets upset, you don’t regain the weight, and your body is unable to move. Some athletes even get sick on the morning of the match because they can’t sleep because they ate the night before. That is why, in my case, I made a cheat day once a week so that I could eat whatever I wanted with all my energy and keep my stomach moving.

In Paris, after overcoming a weight loss, she was able to perform her signature Tomoe-nage, and in the final, she took a Waza-ari to win the tournament.

At the moment of the gold medal, I was not so much happy as relieved that a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I almost gave up many times, but I am glad I kept going. As for the future, I have a …… shoulder injury, so I will just practice during the year and maybe start competing next year.

She did not say anything about the Los Angeles Games four years from now, but said, “From now on, I want to continue judo for my own sake. Only when she stands on the blue pavement will she continue to shine.

From the November 15 , 2024 issue of FRIDAY