Japanese priest goes for canoe gold in Rio

When he’s not chanting and living the austere life of a Buddhist priest, Kazuki Yazawa contemplates Olympic gold. Yazawa will represent Japan in canoe slalom at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

An unexpected turn of events happened when Yazawa won the Japanese canoe slalom national tournament in 2015, propelling him to the top among Japanese contenders to compete in the Summer Games in Rio.

Now, Yazawa practices for about an hour and half, six days a week, followed by either a runs or a gym session.

His practice time on an average day is less than half of what he had done for the London Olympics, but that has not deterred Yazawa from reaching for gold.

“I hope to give my best performance that I can on the grand stage of the Olympics, and come back to Japan with a good feeling” Yazawa said.

His elders, meanwhile, are giving him all the support they can while not putting too much pressure on him.

“If you can win, nothing would surpass that,” Kansho Kayaki, Deputy Chief Priest at the temple, told Yazawa. “Regardless of the results, we hope you will stay healthy, avoid injuries, and complete the games.”

VICTOR R. CAIVANO — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Japan’s Kazuki Yazawa competes in the men’s K-1kayak slalom semifinal at the Lee Valley White Water Center at the 2012Summer Olympics in Waltham Cross, near London. The 27-year-old Yazawa, a Buddhist monk at Zenkoji Daikanjin Temple in Nagano, will...