Shohei Ono, who won the Olympic gold medal in the men's 73-kilogram judo class for the second time in a row, held a press conference and revealed that he will be dispatched to England for two years from next fiscal year to train instructors.
On top of that, regarding his future career, he said, ``There is no retirement for judoka.
Ohno is 31 years old from Yamaguchi Prefecture.
After winning the gold medal in the men's 73kg class at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016, which was his first Olympic appearance, he also won the Tokyo Games two years ago, becoming the seventh Japanese judo player to win the Olympic title for the second time in a row.
After that, he did not return to the actual battle in his own weight class, but he held a press conference in Tokyo on the 7th and went to England for two years from next year as a training project to develop young leaders conducted by JOC = Japan Olympic Committee. announced that it would be sent
Regarding this, Ohno revealed his reason, "I made this decision because I wanted to make myself suffer again. I want to eventually become an international human resource through judo."
On top of that, regarding his future career, he said, "There is no retirement for judoka. I think it's a lifelong training." A big factor is that there weren't any athletes in the same class that I wanted to compete in. After experiencing the Tokyo Olympics, I didn't find anything that made my heart burn."
Looking back on his judo life so far, he said, ``I learned judo and won two consecutive Olympic titles. I have a lot of pride," he said.
Achieved 7th Japanese Judo champion for 2 years in a row
When Ohno was a junior high school student, he left his parents and moved to Tokyo, where he devoted himself to judo at Kodo Gakusha, a judo private school that has produced numerous Olympic medalists, including Toshihiko Koga, who was called "Heisei Sanshiro." rice field.
After that, in 2010, I entered Tenri University in Nara Prefecture, and in 2013, when I was in my fourth year at university, I won my first world championship.
He is good at uchimata and otogari, and won the gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016, which was his first time participating in the Olympic Games, in judo that overwhelms his opponent.
After the Olympics, I took a temporary break in 2017 to prioritize my research in graduate school. With the strength of his hands, he pulled the ball into his own space and showed overwhelming strength, winning all six matches by ippon, and won the championship for the third time.
At the Tokyo Olympics, where he was an overwhelming gold medal contender, he became the seventh Japanese judo player to win two consecutive Olympic titles.
After the Tokyo Olympics, in April last year, he participated in the All Japan Championship, which decided the best weight in Japan, and then in December last year, he was selected as a representative for the Grand Slam Tokyo, but he was absent due to poor condition. I was.
Continuing to stick to the “royal road”
Shohei Ohno has received high acclaim both in Japan and overseas not only for his achievements, but also for his high level of technique and manners, as a judoka in all aspects of mind, technique and body.
In terms of his technique, he has continued to stick to the standard Japanese judo technique of "strengthening his hands together before throwing", and he fully demonstrated his achievements at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, where he won the gold medal.
In order to show respect to the opponent who lost, even if the victory was decided, he did not show his joy immediately and bowed deeply, which was praised by the world and became the subject of moral textbooks in Japan.
And in the following Tokyo tournament, I devoted myself to practice with the theme of "surpassing myself" in the absence of a big rival.
Even in the final, which went to overtime, he continued to attack with his hands crossed, and in the end, he won the wazaari and won the gold medal.
Even as he won his second consecutive Olympic title, his expression and deep bow remained unchanged, further enhancing his reputation as a judoka.
Anguish after the Tokyo Olympics Expectations for “three consecutive victories”
After winning the Tokyo Olympics for the second time in a row, there were expectations from those around him that he would win the third consecutive victory in Paris, but for Ohno, the difficult days continued.
After resuming full-scale training about three months after the Tokyo Olympics, he said, "I came here with my heart about to break, so if I aim for the next Olympics, more pain and suffering than ever will be waiting for me. I can easily imagine that. I'm waiting for the fire in my heart to burn in order to have the determination to endure it."
After that, he practiced mainly at Tenri University, where he is based, and in April last year he participated in the "All Japan Championship", a tournament that decides the best in Japan in no discrimination by weight, and performed judo head-on against 90 kg class athletes. was doing.
Ohno, who entered the Grand Slam Tokyo, an international competition last December, attracted attention because it was the first time in about a year and four months since the Tokyo Olympics that he would be competing in the 73 kg class, but due to poor conditions. I was absent.
At this time, he commented, "I wasn't able to build up my mind and body to compete as a member of the Japanese national team before the tournament. I would like to face myself and make a decision about my future."