Keiju Okada

Olympic Sailing Silver Medalist

The days I spent working with my friends helped me grow

At the Paris 2024 Olympics, August 8th at the Marseille Marina. In the final race of the 470 mixed sailing class, the Japanese team won the silver medal. The skipper at the helm of the yacht was Keiju Okada, a graduate of the Faculty of Sport Sciences at our university. This is the first time in 20 years that a Japanese team has won a medal in sailing.

Keiju Okada (foreground) and Miho Yoshioka pilot their boat in the mixed 470 class medal race (Kyodo News)

“I came into the final race in third place. I decided to do my best and was able to catch the wind in my own way, which led to me catching up. I am very grateful to Miho Yoshioka, my partner, for believing in me. However, my goal was the gold medal, so I am still disappointed.”

Sailing is an extremely delicate sport, requiring sailors to predict the direction and speed of the wind while observing the shape of the waves. Okada began sailing at the age of five in his hometown of Kyushu, where he developed his insight in the midst of nature.

“I started sailing because of my father, and at first I didn’t think of it as a sport. I just liked sailing with the wind blowing through Beppu Bay and looking at the beautiful Mount Takasaki from the sea, and I enjoyed playing with nature.”

When he was in the third grade of elementary school, he won the All Japan Open Class Championship, beating out older competitors. Okada also achieved top class results in junior high and high school, gradually emerging as a talented athlete. He enrolled at Waseda University because of his respect for Ryunosuke Harada, an alumnus of the yacht club.

“I decided to join the yacht club when I heard that Harada, who competed in the London Olympics, was still in and out of the club after graduating. The yacht club places great importance on group activities, and I feel that I was able to grow in terms of communication and team building.”

At his first Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020, where he was aiming to win a medal, Okada also experienced some disappointment. He attributed his seventh place finish (men’s 470 class) to “lack of experience,” and used it to make further progress.

“The COVID-19 pandemic coincided with our first appearance, and we were unable to adjust our condition, which was due to nothing but a lack of experience. Over the next three years, we studied the boats and winds, adjusted our equipment, and strengthened the teamwork between our pairs, and at the start of the Paris competition we were confident of winning a medal.”

Now that he has finished this fierce battle, Okada is also involved in community service activities, such as visiting kindergartens in the Tohoku region where his company is located.

“I am also planning to teach sailing to children in my hometown of Fukuoka, which I am already looking forward to. I hope that they will learn to love not only sailing, but playing outdoors in general, and develop their bodies and sensibilities. The blessings of nature and the wonderfulness of interacting with people helped me grow as a young person. I hope that my juniors at Waseda will also devote themselves to something with all their might, together with their friends.”

Keiju Okada (left) and Miho Yoshioka smile after winning the silver medal in the mixed 470 class (Kyodo News)

PROFILE

Born in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1995. Started competitive sailing at the age of 5. Graduated from Waseda University’s School of Sport Sciences in 2018. While at university, he was a member of the yacht club. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics in 2021, he placed 7th in the men’s 470 class with Junpei Hokazono. In 2023, he won the mixed 470 class at the World Championships and the gold medal in the mixed 470 class at the Hangzhou Asian Games. At the Paris 2024 Olympics in 2024, he won the silver medal in the 470 class with Miho Yoshioka. He is affiliated with Toyota Motor East Japan, Inc.

(Reprinted from CAMPUS NOW No. 253 2024/10)
*This article was originally written in Japanese and was translated using an automatic translation tool.