Yui Susaki, who won the gold medal in the women's 50 kg wrestling class held on the 7th at the Tokyo Olympics.

With this, I have won all 70 races against overseas players and have never lost.

The answer she gave me was why she could keep winning so much while she was researching.

The dream of a girl who longed for Saori Yoshida

Susaki, who served as the flag bearer at the opening ceremony, is 1 meter and 53 centimeters tall.

Rui Hachimura, a basketball boy with the same standard-bearer, was talked about as having a height difference of 50 cm, but the majestic march was impressive.



Saori Yoshida, who won the Olympic Games for the third time in a row, served at the London 2012 Games.

Susaki said he longed to see Mr. Yoshida win the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics.

In the collection of texts when I was in the 4th grade of elementary school, it was written as follows.



"20-year-old to Yui of (snip) 10 years old I am aiming for the Olympic Games. I hope to go to the Olympics" (sic)



that serves as the standard-bearer in the same way as Yoshida might not stick imagination However, from an early age, I was always looking at the gold medal.

According to her sister Mai, Susaki had a stronger desire to become stronger since she was little.



(Mr. Mai)


"When my coach told me to do push-ups and abs 10 times, my sister always did it once and 11 times. I said that if I practiced the same as other people, I would only have the same strength. Tane ”From the



second year of junior high school to high school, I entered the JOC Elite Academy and worked on rigorous practice.



I remember when I went to interview four years ago when I was in the third year of high school.

He was very polite and cheerfully engaged in practicing with all his might.

When my coach gave me some guidance, I wrote it down on a whiteboard, took a picture with my cell phone and saved it.



"I don't want to forget my advice," I was surprised by my aspirations.

Coach Shoko Yoshimura, the Japanese national team who teaches from junior high school, also points out that the strength of that feeling is the greatest advantage.



(Coach Shoko Yoshimura)


"I have a strong desire to go to the Olympics, and I think the greatest strength is that I can think about what I should do for that and make every effort."

If you want to keep winning, keep improving yourself

The greatest strength as a player is "speed".

A high-speed tackle reminiscent of Saori Yoshida.

It has been outstanding since junior high school and high school, and in 2017 he won the world championship as a high school student for the first time since Kaori Icho, and in 2018 he won the championship in a row.

Naturally, the world is wary of this high-speed tackle to the utmost, but Susaki's aspirations have continued to evolve to surpass it.


I practiced various forms of attack such as breaking with kumite, ground fighting, and throwing.

After entering university, I started sparring with strong boys, and not only speed but also power and detailed techniques were refined.

He also likes watching videos of overseas boys' games, and he says that he immediately tries out big tricks that girls don't often use as "interesting".

I greedily absorbed it from other sports, such as doing sports climbing to strengthen my fingers and incorporating practice to maintain the posture of speed skating to hold it low.


Both Susaki and the coach agreed that if you want to keep winning, you have to keep getting stronger.



(Susaki)


"I want to improve myself and become stronger"



(Coach Shoko Yoshimura)


"If you use one technique, it is natural for the other party to respond to it, so we will prepare various weapons. I have to keep doing this until I retire. "

If there is a 0.1% chance

Only Susaki, who has a strong desire to win, has lost the experience, which has led to his growth.


The biggest one was in July.

It was that Irie Yuki lost in the world championship national team deciding match that led to the selection of the Tokyo Olympics.



Susaki, who felt that he might not be able to go to the Olympics by 0.1%, couldn't stop crying after the match.

Still, with the support of many people, including my sister Mai and coach Yoshimura, Susaki immediately turned to the front.



"If I'm not ready when the chance comes, I regret it. If I don't believe in myself, I can't start."



Susaki resumed practice in just two days and continued to believe in the possibilities.

Then Irie missed the offer of the representative, and the selection of the representative returned to the beginning.

This time, he won the battle for the national team and decided to participate in the dream stage.



"I think I am now because I have overcome the pain because of that loss."

“I like wrestling”

Susaki's strength at the Olympics was astounding.


Win a technical fall in all four games.

It was an overwhelming match that did not allow the opponent to just one point.

What surprised me was that I didn't give out the tackle I was good at.

Because the other party was wary, I was overwhelmed by the power of the kumite fight and carefully stopped with sophisticated ground fighting.

I also showed a big throwing technique like a boy player several times.

It was as strong as a different person compared to four years ago when I became the first world champion.



"I've spent my life aiming to win the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. It's like a dream," said Susaki with a smile.



I asked him why he could try to be so strong.


Susaki thought a little and answered.



"I love wrestling, so I wonder if I'm always ambitious."


"I like wrestling."



That simple thought was the driving force to overcome the setbacks and always aim for the top.


Small wrestlers aim for heights forever.