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Olympic javelin champion Haruka Kitaguchi capped a stellar year by becoming a unanimous choice for the grand prize of the 73rd Japan Sports Awards, it was announced Thursday.
The selection panel of dignitaries selected Kitaguchi from among a list of athletes and teams nominated by their respective national federations who performed exceptionally in domestic and international competitions during the year.
Kitaguchi, who became Japan’s first-ever female Olympic gold medalist in athletics outside of the marathon with her triumph in Paris, will receive ¥2 million at a gala ceremony to be held Jan. 16. The Japan Association of Athletics Federations will also receive ¥3 million.
“She is a Japanese athlete who won a gold medal in an event in which the size of an athlete’s body is very important,” a panel member said in choosing Kitaguchi. “Athletes in other sports no longer have an excuse.”
Another gushed: “She is a world-class athlete. She is worthy of receiving two awards.”
Kitaguchi, 26, was delighted when informed of the honor. “I’m thrilled that I was chosen from among so many achievements that happened at the Olympics, Paralympics and other sporting events,” she said.
Last year, Kitaguchi received one of the special awards that are also presented after winning the javelin gold at the World Championships. Going one step further this year, she quipped, “Coming first is great, whatever it’s for.”
Earning special Olympic awards were the men’s gymnastics team, the combined men’s and women’s wrestling contingent, skateboarder Yuto Horigome and judo star Takanori Nagase.
The men’s gymnastics team won Japan’s first Olympic team gold in the sport in eight years and eight overall, while the wrestlers combined for eight golds and 11 medals overall in the 18 weight classes. Horigome retained his Olympic title in men’s street skateboarding and Nagase won a second straight gold in the men’s 81-kilogram division to medal in a third consecutive Games.
Encouragement prizes were awarded to diving’s Rikuto Tamai, who won Japan’s first-ever medal in the sport with a silver in the men’s 10-meter platform event; and the women’s table tennis team that claimed the team title at the Asian Championships in October.
The annual awards were created by The Yomiuri Shimbun and are cohosted by Nippon Television Network Corp. The panel met at The Yomiuri Shimbun head office in Otemachi, Tokyo.
