People : People The representative swimming race player of Waseda!
Ms. Maki Mita

Ms. Maki Mita Born in 1983. Graduated from Suma Gakuen, a private high school in Hyogo prefecture. Senior in the School of Education; a member of the swim team. Participated in the Sydney Olympics as a high school student and placed eighth in the 200 meter butterfly. In the Intercollegiate 2004, she won the championship in five events. This winter, she returned to her old team, Konami Sports. She admires the swimmer Noriko Inada, who is a graduate (2001) of the School of Education.

In the competition which Maki participated in instead of her Waseda entrance ceremony, she set a new Japanese record in the 200m butterfly and made a brilliant debut. In the following four years, she set many new records and appeared in this paper over 15 times (!). “A swim meet is a personal battle, but actually I'm supported by many friends. It's very interesting that I can experience such good results if I make a big effort for my supporters.” Maki was a physically weak child, and her doctor recommended that she swim. She has been following his advice for over 20 years now.

As a college student, in contrast to her high school days, she is planning her practice schedule by herself. “I wanted to escape from an overly regimented training method. But it was difficult to make my own way (laugh). When she participated in the Sydney Olympics in her high school days, she was so nervous that she hardly remembers the competition. So she has trained her mind consciously. “No matter how hard I train the body, an important thing is how long I can maintain my motivation. It is necessary to drive oneself continually in order to keep my mind calm.”

These four years were far from easy. She couldn't participate in the Athens Olympics, and to make matters worse, she couldn't practice for three months because of a hernia, so she thought she'd better quit swimming. “It felt like I had a big hole in my heart, and swimming started to make me nervous." While acting as a manager supervising the other swimmers' practice, the will to swim came to her again. “While I watched the practice, I noticed my weak points, and I was inspired by other swimmers who work really hard. Of course, her friends gave her a lot of emotional support.

Because of her break from swimming, she didn't achieve very good results this season, but “On the contrary, it worked well. This is not the end! I made up my mind to continue swimming, aiming at the Beijing Olympics." Under the direction from her high school coach, she aspired to a member of the national team again. “All my experiences are material for me. Once I have made a decision, I want to accomplish my goal.” In this way, she sets off forcefully on a new path.