Noriaki Kasai, 52 years old and a member of the World Cup team, “spoke to this magazine” about his feelings toward his late mother and sister.

At the age of 52, Kasai’s growth continues unabated.

He will compete at the World Cup in Sapporo starting February 15. The legendary Kasai is still going strong. FRIDAY” (March 1-8, 2012 issue) had a long interview with Kasai. We would like to look back on the athlete Kasai’s feelings for his late mother and sister, which inspired him, in his own voice, including unpublished comments.

Isn’t he amazing at his age?

Kasai proudly told this reporter after winning the TVh Cup held in Sapporo in February 2012, just before the interview, for the first time in two years. When we asked him about his childhood memories, he gave us a surprising answer that we could not imagine from his spectacular achievements as an athlete.

–You were born in Shimokawa-cho, Hokkaido, where skiing is popular.

My father was often ill, and we were so poor that we could not afford to eat every day. I couldn’t afford expensive ski equipment, so I used hand-me-downs from my senior members of the boys’ team. My mother cut back on living expenses and supported the family while working. I hoped to one day compete in the Olympics and win a gold medal to make my mother’s life easier. This wish became the driving force for me to continue jumping.

I thought, “If I give her a medal, maybe she will get well.

–He had a good track record in Japan, and competed in consecutive Olympics in Albertville in 1992 and Lillehammer in 1994, but he was determined to win the gold medal.

My sister, who is five years younger than me, was suffering from aplastic anemia, an incurable disease. I thought the best treatment was to make her happy by winning the gold medal. During the interview, I half-seriously said, ‘If I grind up a gold medal and give it to her to drink, I think she will be cured.

–Before the 1998 Nagano Olympics, there was a tragedy in which your house caught fire.

Her mother was seriously injured with burns all over her body. She died at the young age of 48. …… My mother wrote letters to me from her hospital bed when I was in a slump at the time. I still can’t stop crying when I read her letters again and again. She wrote, “I know you are going through a tough time, but this is life. Your mother is looking forward to seeing her child crawl up to the top of the hill,’ she wrote, encouraging me in my dying state.

Kasai vowed to win a medal at the Olympics as a tribute to her late mother and sister. The first time I won a medal as an individual was when I was 41 years and 8 months old. It was at the Sochi Olympics in 2002.

I don’t feel anything.

–How did you feel?

It was complicated because it was silver. …… I was half disappointed that I didn’t win gold, and half happy that I won a medal. Tsuchiya Home, the company I belong to, has a company policy called “Ten Precepts for Success. One of them is, “Adversity is the greatest chance that heaven has given you. These words supported me. At the Sochi Olympics, I imagined myself overcoming adversity and standing on the podium with tears in my eyes many times.

Kasai continues to grow by overcoming adversity, his greatest chance. Even at the time of our interview, he seemed to have no idea of his limitations as an athlete.

Some people say that an athlete’s limits are felt around the age of 40. But I don’t feel anything. I practice about one-third less than I did when I was younger, but I’m working to squeeze my body thoroughly so that I can fly farther.

The 52-year-old Kasai is looking forward to the Milano Olympics in 2014, which will be his ninth appearance in two events.