This is the first Olympic gymnastics girl to win a medal in 57 years since the last Tokyo Games.

Mai Murakami, who won the bronze medal in Yuka, according to the women's gymnastics event held on the 2nd.

It was a medal that I got with a smile, tears, and my best performance.

Murakami, who won the bronze medal, responded with a trademark smile.



"I was able to perform the best. It was fun and I naturally smiled." It



has been four years since the reporter started interviewing Murakami. Murakami, who performed the best performance ever on the best stage of the Tokyo Olympics, achieved the first feat in 57 years for a Japanese player. However, the road to this point was not smooth.



After the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, he became the first Japanese female athlete to win a gold medal in each event at the 2017 World Championships. In 2018, the following year, he won the silver medal for the first time as an individual all-around.

Murakami's gymnastics, which



"



becomes

even stronger,"

shined brightly and continued to grow with an overwhelming amount of practice. However, due to the fatigue accumulated in the practice, in 2019, at the NHK Cup, which also served as the representative selection for the world championship, I missed the NHK Cup due to the pain in my lower back that I had in the last practice. I couldn't walk for a while, so I left the gymnastics practice.



It is said that after the pain in the lower back was somewhat relieved, he was so impatient to get it back quickly that he became anxious all the time when he was not practicing and became mentally depressed.



The



painful feeling of

"

I

don't want to have such an experience again"

was gradually resolved as I faced each match and each performance. The Tokyo Olympics have been postponed for one year. While refraining from corona, my lower back pain was alleviated, I had more time to face myself, and I reconsidered how to face my own competition.



"I like gymnastics for some reason. I want to win."



With the new goal of winning medals at the Tokyo Olympics, we have refined our strengths in flooring and vaulting, and devoted ourselves to overcoming the balance beam, which we are not good at.

After winning the All Japan Championship last December and making a comeback, this year he won the All Japan Championship and the NHK Cup and was selected as the representative of the Tokyo Olympics.



"I'm relieved. I'm afraid that if I get injured again, I won't have the energy or physical strength, but I practiced earnestly so that I could gain confidence



."

Coupled with the pressure of the captain who was assigned for the first time, from the qualifying on the 25th of last month, we saw a scene where we shed tears in the finals of the group and individual all-around.



"You're always crying. It's a crybaby."

The final performance of the Olympics is the final of Yuka, by event.

It was an event that I have been good at since I was a child.

Started acting with a slightly nervous look.

After deciding the opening turn, the H-difficulty "Siribas" will be decided with almost no mistakes until landing.

Stable landing even with the technique after this.



"I naturally smiled." When



I put on the song and performed the techniques and choreography one after another, the acting of a

smile was followed by

the rhythm.

There were few noticeable mistakes in the time of one and a half minutes, and it was the best performance ever.



And for the first time in 57 years, a Japanese player's first bronze medal.

After seeing tears for a moment, I immediately smiled.



"It was fun. It was really fun and I didn't want this one and a half minutes to end." The



culmination of the performance came to fruition in the best possible way.



"It's been five years since I headed to Tokyo from Rio de Janeiro. I was able to perform the best I've ever done. It was the best performance I could have had to lose."



And on the podium, he smiled the most radiantly ever.