《つなぐ聖火》“空手少女”高野万優さん　年齢制限で五輪出場できず「ランナーとして勇気を…」【新潟】 (21/06/02 20:00)

In our series on "Connecting the Torch," we introduce the second in our series, featuring Takano Mayu (Mahiro), a young karate girl from Nagaoka City. Although she was unable to compete in the Tokyo Olympics due to age restrictions, we interviewed her about her aspirations for the Olympics as a torchbearer. The person who performed the spirited demonstration was Takano Mayu (14), a third-year junior high school student from Nagaoka City who was selected as a torchbearer. [Takanori Mayu] "I'm a little worried about whether I'll be able to finish the race properly, but I hope I can enjoy it and run so that I can pass the baton properly to the next person." Mayu started karate at the age of four. She has attracted attention as a young karate prodigy, achieving a record-breaking sixth consecutive victory at the 2018 national championships. She has also served as an ambassador for karate to become an official Olympic sport at the Tokyo Olympics. However, age restrictions prevented her from competing in the Tokyo Olympics... Then, the story of a torchbearer came to her. [Takanashi Mayu] "I've always wanted to be involved with the Olympics in some way, so I applied because I thought I'd like to do it." However, there's one thing she's worried about... [Takanashi Mayu] "I'm not good with fire (laughs)." Mayu also showed us a surprising side of herself. Due to the spread of COVID-19, she hasn't been able to practice as much as she'd like, but she hopes to encourage many people as a torchbearer. [Takanashi Mayu] "I think this fire has been passed down from Fukushima with all sorts of thoughts connected to it, so I want to carry those thoughts on.... I think there are a lot of people who are suffering because of the coronavirus right now, so I hope I can pass on those thoughts and encourage them, even just a little."