Former Japanese national team members Kohei Uchimura and Mai Murakami look back on their passion for gymnastics and how they spent their time traveling

[Kohei Uchimura] Even after retiring as an active athlete, "my gymnastics career is not over"

Uchimura ended his active career at an event held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium in March 2022. However, even though he has retired as a gymnast, he says, "My gymnastics career is not over."

Uchimura: "I've continued to train even after I retired, so in terms of my mindset and lifestyle, what I do is almost the same as when I was active. I'm just not competing anymore, but I still spend my days practicing as a gymnast without missing a single moment."

Even after retiring, she continues to practice... This shows her stoic attitude in the pursuit of gymnastics, like a seeker of truth.

Uchimura: "If I had stopped practicing, my life after retirement would naturally have been different. But gymnastics is the only thing I can do, or rather, I only know a life with gymnastics, so I never thought about quitting gymnastics. I want to pursue the deeper aspects of gymnastics."

Rather than becoming a coach and teaching others, I want to pursue gymnastics on my own.

Three gold medals at the Olympics and ten at the World Championships. As these gold medals show, Uchimura has always been at the center of Japan's gymnastics world. For that reason, Uchimura is expected to take the lead and lead the gymnastics world.

Uchimura: "At the moment, it's more important to me to pursue gymnastics myself than to become a coach. But I want Japanese athletes to continue to achieve great results on the world stage. I want the appeal of gymnastics to spread to more people, and for the gymnastics world in Japan to become more popular."

To that end, Uchimura says, "I want people to come to matches and events and see gymnastics up close."
In gymnastics, people tend to focus on the names of the techniques, but I want people to know what the athletes are thinking when they perform. I think that kind of approach is also necessary in the gymnastics world.

In December, the All-Japan Gymnastics Team Championships will be held in Fukui Prefecture, where university and adult gymnastics teams will compete to become the best in Japan.

Uchimura: "At the All Japan Team Championships, keep an eye on Taiki Hashimoto, who won the double gold medal in the individual all-around and horizontal bar events at the Tokyo Olympics, and his Juntendo University team. If you watch the strong athletes, you'll be able to feel the greatness of gymnastics."

Unforgettable memories in Brisbane, Australia

Most of the travel for top athletes is for expeditions such as games and training camps. It is very important to stay in good condition, so Uchimura says that when he was an athlete, "I tried not to sleep on the plane."

Uchimura: "Some athletes sleep, but I'm the type who is sensitive to changes in air pressure, so if I sleep on the plane, my body feels heavy. So I stayed up and watched movies the whole time. However, during the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the travel time was 26 hours, so it was tough (laughs)."

Of all the places he has visited for matches and training camps, the one that remains most vivid in Uchimura's memory is Brisbane, Australia. Brisbane is Australia's third largest city, with easy access to famous tourist destinations such as the Gold Coast and the Great Barrier Reef, and is set to host the Brisbane Olympics in 2032.

Uchimura: "I went to Brisbane for a training camp, and my coach lived there, so he took me sightseeing. It was winter in Japan, but summer there, so I remember it was very comfortable. I think that was the only time I had such an enjoyable time overseas. If I have the chance, I'd like to go to Australia again."

Uchimura continues to focus on gymnastics even now. Having made great achievements in the gymnastics world, we are keeping our eyes on his future endeavors.