Japanese Athletes Return Home with Record Medals

Tokyo, Feb. 24 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s team for the Milan-Cortina Olympics returned home on Tuesday after enjoying a record Winter Olympics medal haul of 24 during the 17-day quadrennial sporting festival that ended in Italy on Sunday. Japanese medalists reflected on their time during the Winter Games at a press conference in Tokyo. “Even when I felt like I was going to fall apart, all the cheers helped me fight until the end,” Ryuichi Kihara, who won Japan’s first Olympic gold medal in pairs figure skating with his partner, Riku Miura, said at the press conference. “We believed in all the training we had accumulated,” Miura said. They were among the members of the Japanese delegation who landed at Narita International Airport in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, from Italy earlier in the day. Also at the press conference, Kira Kimura, who became Japan’s first gold medalist at the Milan-Cortina Games by securing the top podium spot in the men’s big air snowboarding event, said, “I think I am where I am now thanks to the support of everyone around me, including my coaches and trainers.” Figure skater Kaori Sakamoto, who won silver in the women’s singles event, reflected on her time at the Games, saying, “The 17 days were like a roller coaster ride where I experienced many different emotions.” She said that the entire experience was “a wonderful memory.” During the sporting festival in northern Italy, Japan won five gold medals, seven silver medals and 12 bronze medals. Hidehito Ito, head of the Japanese delegation, said, “Many athletes gave their best performance.” END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]