Olympic Athletes Entertain Children in Quake-Hit Wajima; Judo Gold Medalist Among Olympians Visiting Noto Peninsula

The Yomiuri Shimbun

21:00 JST, November 18, 2024

Olympic athletes including judo gold medalist Hifuni Abe visited a school in Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, on Sunday, playing with children as part of an event to support reconstruction from the devastating Noto Peninsula Earthquake in January.

Abe, 27, won a gold medal in men’s judo at the Paris Games this year. Other participants included his sister Uta, 24, and Risako Kinjo, 29, a gold medalist in women’s wrestling at the Tokyo Olympics and a native of Tsubata in the prefecture.

Held at Wajima Junior High School, the event was organized by the Japanese Olympic Committee and other organizations. A total of 166 elementary and junior high school students attended the event. They chased Abe and the other athletes, trying to toss balls into baskets that the athletes carried on their backs and laughing as the athletes ran away from them.

“Athletes move so fast and so strongly. It was fun to see them up close,” a 10-year-old fourth-grade student from Fugeshi Elementary School said.

Abe said: “When someone has a dream, every day becomes more fulfilling. I want the children to have a dream, even if it’s just one dream, and do their best.”