It’s not easy to hit your peak for an event that takes place once every four years.
In an interview with the Olympic channel, Nozomi Okuhara revealed how her bronze at Rio was a big disappointment these past four years. She said, “Not a day goes by when I don’t think about it.”
Okuhara won the World Championships in 2017 but to her, hearing the Japanese anthem play as the national flag went up only added to the feeling of disappointment. She said, “The disappointment for Rio only grew bigger.”
Okuhara said that as soon as Rio ended Tokyo was on her mind. To her winning at Tokyo is the only way to get rid of the disappointing feeling. She said only a handful of people were in a position to try to change fate and that she considered “it a privilege and try to turn it into a positive outcome.”
She said the ones on the podium did not get there on talent alone and said that luck played an important part as well. She said, “I want to find out if I have what it takes to get there. I see it as more of a discovery than something to achieve. ‘How can I turn all the support, the expectations, to my benefit?’ is the question I have to answer.”
She reiterated her dissatisfaction and said, “The frustration from Rio doesn’t go away, no matter how many tournaments I win…it’s a constant fight.”
