Olympic and Paralympic Project Promotion SectionWaseda University

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[Event Report] Kuniko Obinata presents at Waseda 2020 Lecture

The 5th “Captain” Saburo Kawabuchi’s Waseda 2020 Lecture was held on October 28 at the Masaru Ibuka Auditorium, International Conference Center. This series of lectures has been held since FY2017 as part of the university’s Olympic and Paralympic program to generate enthusiasm for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympic Games. Kuniko Obinata, Vice Chairman of the Paralympians Association of Japan, medalist in the Paralympics sit-ski event, and Waseda alumni (2017 graduate of the Graduate School of Sports Science), was invited to give a presentation.

Prior to the presentation, University Professor Saburo Kawabuchi, coordinator of this program, and the chairman of Japan Top League gave welcoming remarks. Mr. Kawabuchi touched on the current state of sports in Japan and called upon many students in the audience to be active in professional sports and the Olympics.

Ms. Obinata’s presentation was titled, “No Wall Unbreakable – the Challenges for Paralympic Athletes.”

Ms. Obinata, who has been to the Winter Olympics five times and won a total of 10 medals in alpine skiing, including gold, silver, and bronze, discovered sit-skiing when she was in high school. Following that, she quickly became proficient and competed in the Lillehammer Olympics in 1994 when she was in university. She participated in the Olympics in Salt Lake City and in Turin, adding, “Sports often do not go well, but test your limits and the experience of small successes will lead to confidence.”

At the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, she was the leader of Team Japan where she listened to the goals of each athlete, savored the tension of competing in the games together, and experienced the thrill of victory and the sadness of defeat.

She spoke about the goal, as Vice Chairman of the Paralympians Association of Japan, of spreading a society with diversity through holding the Tokyo Paralympic Games and through Paralympic competition, under the Tokyo 2020 Olympics concept of “sport has the power to change the world and our future.”

–Comments from participants–

“I understood that the Olympics and Paralympics are a lot of pressure, and I felt it is difficult for someone to be at their best. After listening to her presentation, I was able to remember the joy of the competition in sports. I thought it was important to tackle everything with a sense of curiosity. I’m glad to hear such a good story that I can apply to my training starting tomorrow. Thank you.”

“There is some overlap with my experience. I felt that a lot of things didn’t go well in my competitions, but I understand that even people with glorious accomplishments put in a great deal of sweat and effort, and this makes me want to try harder to reach my goals.”

“My motivation increased as a competitor by listening to a person who has competed against world-class athletes. While I felt the importance of facing challenges head on, I realized how difficult they are to tackle, and it motivated me to take on life and competition with confidence.”

The 6th lecture is scheduled to be held in June 2020.

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