Paris Olympics Gold Medalist Akari Fujinami Becomes an Apprentice at a Sushi Restaurant! The truth is, I was afraid of the Olympics.

The Fear of Losing.”

Just before the match, she had a strange experience. Two weeks before the match, her ears suddenly became swollen and swollen like the swollen ears of a gizzard, as is typical of wrestlers.

In hindsight, I think it may have been due to the fact that her ears often touched her opponents’ feet as she practiced the new techniques she had prepared for the Olympics, but it was a bit of a surprise because it was so sudden,” she said.

A number of routines brought calmness to Fujinami on the mat at the Olympics. He put the mouthpiece on his mouth as usual, and controlled his opponent with fast tackles as usual. In the final, Fujinami won 10-0 against Ecuador’s Jepes Guzman, who had struggled at last year’s World Championships.

I have never studied any particular wrestler in the tournaments I have competed in,” said Guzman. I knew that if I kept to my wrestling style, I would never lose. That’s what I thought. However, the Olympics is a competition where losing is absolutely unacceptable. I had struggled in my previous competition, so I made sure to prepare for the competition.

When the victory was decided, he was the first to jump on his father, Shunichi, who was accompanying him as a coach. He climbed up onto the bleachers, hugged his mother and grandmother, and shared his joy.

I used to picture myself carrying my father on my shoulders after winning the gold medal,” he said. But going into Paris, I had no idea what I would do after I fulfilled my dream. I just went with my instincts, and that’s how it turned out (laughs).”

The highlight of the competition was when Fujinami looked lovingly at the medal on her neck at the awards ceremony.

Fujinami said, “I always say that I don’t care about the record of consecutive wins, but I think I have more fear of losing than anyone else. But I also think that having that kind of feeling makes you a stronger athlete. I myself have not been changed by the gold medal, but the reaction of the people around me is different. It is in times like this (when I am pampered) that I must be humble and not lose sight of myself. Otherwise, I won’t be able to win back-to-back championships in Los Angeles in four years and Brisbane the year after that.

After eating two servings of sushi, Fujinami let an elderly couple who visited the restaurant touch his gold medal. Fujinami gave a warm look to the elderly couple, who were so happy that they even said, “I want to keep it as a souvenir for the rest of my life.

From the November 22/29 , 2024 issue of“ FRIDAY