Japan seek top three in 2020
RIO DE JANEIRO: Japan will aim to finish in the top three of the medal table at the 2020 Tokyo Games after winning its record 41 medals during the Rio Olympics, chef de mission Seiko Hashimoto said.
Hashimoto summed up the Japanese effort at Rio 2016 where the country won 12 gold, eight silver and 21 bronze medals, surpassing the overall total from London four years ago by three.
Japan were sixth on the medal standings in Rio, with the United States in first after winning 46 golds, followed by Britain with 27 and China 26.
It was Japan’s highest medal table ranking since Athens 2004, where they finished fifth with an all-time high 16 golds.
In addition to cracking the top three, Hashimoto said Japan will attempt to win medal in every sport at 2020.
“We will do whatever it takes to make 2020 a success. We must accomplish our goal of finishing third on the medal standings,” said Hashimoto, herself a former summer and winter Olympian in cycling and speed skating.
“For Tokyo, there will be five sports added on top of the 28 we have now and we must win a medal in each of the 33 — at worst. The total number of medals ought to be close to double what we won here.”
“We managed to surpass our total from London, winning 41 medals here,” she said. “Our athletes all but hit our target of winning one every day. We reaped the benefits of four years of hard work.”
Hashimoto praised the all-around effort from her athletes, who fed off one another during the Aug 5-21 competition.
“In the athletics, the men’s 4x100m relay team won silver and a lot of praise for their baton changes, and I think that reflects the spirit of our delegation here,” she said.
“The swimming and judo got us going and from there, the baton was passed on to one sport from the next.
Hashimoto, who will look to oversee the building of an overseas training base for Japanese athletes somewhere, said to meet the target figures in four years’ time, Japan must acquire a much bigger budget on par with the most successful Olympic nations.
“There are many things on our to-do list, but if I had to pick one, it would be the budget. I’m not saying the budget is everything, but we had to apply for each and every piece of spending toward development. It’s impossible to develop without proper funding,” she said.
On Sunday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made a dramatic entrance at the closing ceremony of the 2016 Olympics in the role of Super Mario.
Abe later told reporters he hopes the Tokyo Olympics will serve as an opportunity for Japan to transmit thrilling scenes to the world.
He also said he dressed up as Mario because he “wanted to show Japan’s soft power with the help of a Japanese character.”