"I want to express my gratitude."


Reona Aoki, who took the seat of the Olympic team for the first time in the women's 100-meter breaststroke, said her gratitude while shedding tears in the post-race interview.

To my clumsy self ...

The opponent is coach Norimasa Hirai.

He is the head coach of the Japanese national team and is a well-known coach who has trained many Olympic athletes such as Kosuke Kitajima and Kosuke Hagino.



Aoki met Coach Hirai when he was in the first year of junior high school.

He patiently faced the clumsy self who has outstanding physical ability but cannot make good use of it for swimming.

Coach Hirai recalls those days, saying, "I think I'll be able to go to the Olympics for more than 10 years. If I weren't a coach, I would have quit swimming five times."



Five years ago, when the Rio de Janeiro tournament was selected for the national team, Aoki did not reach the national team, even though he set a time to set his personal best.


Even so, I conveyed that joy to Coach Hirai with a sense of accomplishment that I was able to set my personal best on the stage of the Japan Championships for the first time when I was in the fourth year of college because I was easily nervous.



Then, the invitation that came back was "Reona Aoki, are you willing to continue swimming as a member of society?"

Coach Hirai, who felt that Aoki had more room to grow, pushed his back and decided to continue the competition.



However, I cannot respond to that thought with the result.

In 2018, he was unable to exert his strength at the representative selection meeting of the international tournament and experienced a loss of representative.

Coach Hirai called out to Aoki, "I'm sorry for my fault."

3 years since then….


"I don't want to say the same thing anymore


." The final on the 5th, when the coach

tried not

to apologize for himself.


The tense personality hasn't changed.


I couldn't take a nap and rest my body, and before the race I imagined myself winning and losing.

Coach Hirai sent out Aoki, saying, "If you have confidence, it's definitely okay."



The race of the final.


Get out of the early stages with a swim that makes the most of your speed.

Just before the goal, Kanako Watanabe was overtaken, but the desire to go to the Olympics led to a tenacious swim.

I grabbed my first Olympic ticket in 2nd place and finally got one repayment.



The opportunity to give back further was the Olympics, and after the race, Aoki made a new vow, "I think there is a different feeling of tension, but I want to swim freely and win a medal to Professor Hirai."