Misaki Emura: “I will never stop wearing high tone hair color! The “Blonde Fencer” of the fencing world talks about why she dyed her hair

In contrast to the inorganic nature of fencing, in which athletes wear heavy protective gear and thrust swords with built-in sensors, it was women’s sabre fencer Misaki Emura (26), with her golden hair, who took the sports world by storm in 2012.

She played a major role as a flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics last year, and won a bronze medal in the women’s team. (TV Asahi) on New Year’s Day. Once blonde hair becomes a trademark, it is not so easy to stop.

I don’t intend to stop wearing high-tone hair color at the moment. I’m planning to stop when I get tired of it, but I’m not tired of it at all (laughs).

Why did he go blonde after the Tokyo Olympics?

The first time he dyed his hair was two and a half years ago.

After the Tokyo Olympics, I kept running, and I couldn’t stop the energy. ……

In Tokyo (’21), her first Olympics, she lost in the second round (13th place) in the individual competition and finished 5th in the team competition. Immediately after that, “I couldn’t stop my energy,” is probably athlete-speak that is impossible for anyone other than the person in question to understand.

I was so disappointed, but at the same time I was filled with hope and energy, thinking that I could have beaten the medalists and maybe even won a medal, and I didn’t want to rest at all.

So I continued practicing after the competition, and one day I suddenly felt burned out. I took a break to freshen up, and when I thought about what I could do to refresh myself, I came up with the idea of going blonde.”

She was prepared to face the wrath of fencing association officials and others, but she says that no one said anything about it, and in fact, it was very well received.

I didn’t want to just show off, I just wanted to have fun as part of the fashion that I love.

Emura is the first professional athlete in the fencing world. He is not obliged to perform for any particular company, so there are no restrictions on his activities outside of competition, but there is a risk that if he does not perform well in competitions, he will not be able to attract sponsors.

If they don’t want to support me,” he says, “even the funds to go on the expedition will be at risk. But maybe it suits my personality.”

Also appointed as a sports ambassador for “DIOR

After the Tokyo Olympics, Emura made a fresh start, and his results improved. In 2010 and 2011, he won back-to-back World Championships and became the face of the fencing world.

In May 2012, he became the sports ambassador for the luxury brand DIOR, and modeling jobs began to come his way.

I was surprised. I was surprised. (laugh). I had never said I liked DIOR before, and I had never worn luxury clothes myself. Later, I heard that the current chief designer, Maria Grazia Chiuri (60), seemed to like fencing and offered me the opportunity.

I am always conscious of the fusion of sports and fashion, and I wear earrings, necklaces, and even a ring on my left hand, which does not carry a sword. I wonder if she sympathized with that aspect of my work.”

The January 10 issue of “FRIDAY January 24/31” and the paid version of “FRIDAY GOLD” carry details of Emura’s thoughts on the major role she played as a flag bearer at the Paris Olympics.

For more details and multiple photos, click here↓↓↓.

Misaki Emura, “Blonde swordsman,” has made up her mind: “I want to run all the way to the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

From the January 24 and 31 issues of FRIDAY