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Comment from Karin Morisaki, One of the Final Torchbearers for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games Open…

Karin Morisaki (College of Law, 1st year) was one of the final torchbearers for the opening ceremony of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games held on August 24. We asked her to talk about her experience at the ceremony and preparations for the Paralympic Games.

When she was a third-year student at Ritsumeikan Moriyama Junior High School, Morisaki, a power lifter, joined the Japan Rising Star Project (J-STAR Project), which aims to identify young athletes. This is when she began competing in earnest. In just under one year, she set a new Japan record, and earlier this year, she took home gold in the women’s 67 kg junior division of the Manchester 2021 Para Powerlifting World Cup that was held in the U.K. From March 25 to 28.

Although she was not selected to represent the national team at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Organizing Committee approached her about joining the opening ceremony, and there she lit the cauldron as one of the final torchbearers.