Tokyo 2020

Icho Returns to Mat After 2-Year Absence with Eyes on 5th Olympic Gold

Saturday, October 13, 2018 - 01:18 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO (October 13) -- More than two years after making history by winning an unprecedented fourth Olympic gold medal at Rio 2016, Japanese legend Kaori ICHO has returned to the mat to begin a quest for a fifth. The road back has had its bumps along the way.

Icho, who has not competed since her triumph in Rio, is entered in the 57kg division at the All-Japan Women's Open to be held this weekend in Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture, about 100 kilometers southwest of Tokyo. 

The tournament is serving as a qualifier for the All-Japan Championships, also known as the Emperor's Cup, to be held at December. That, along with the All-Japan Invitational Championships, or Meiji Cup, in May, are used to select national teams to the world championships and Olympics.


Top wrestlers such as Icho would normally never enter the Women's Open, but her time away from the mat has kept her from earning an automatic berth in the Emperor's Cup. Also, it presents a sufficient challenge to check her progress ahead of the stiffer competition ahead.

It was the same path that Rio 2016 champion Eri TOSAKA took last year when she returned from injury. Tosaka won the tournament at 53kg, but eventually came up short in her bid to make Japan's team to the world championships at 50kg.

To get into the Emperor's Cup, Icho needs to finish in the top two among the field of seven entries. On paper, at least, this should pose little problem. Her main competition looks to come from Shigakkan University's Hanako SAWA, a two-time runner-up at the Japan collegiate championships, and Fusano MOCHIZUKI, a semifinalist in Mishima last year. The four others, all collegians, all lost in the first or second round at the collegiate tournament in August. 

Icho, who normally avoids the spotlight anyway, has been kept off limits from the media during her preparation for the tournament, which consists of competition in various age groups. She will be in the senior division, which will be held Sunday. 

When it was announced in the summer that Icho would make a comeback aimed at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she said in a statement issued through her sponsor ALSOK: "I will give my full effort to help make wrestling a sport with even more appeal."

The sport was in need of a boost. At the beginning of the year, Icho revealed through third parties that she was a victim of power harassment, sparking a scandal that stunned the nation and rocked the sport to its core. The perpetrator was none other than Kazuhito SAKAE, the national team director of athlete development and head coach at powerful Shigakkan. 

Sakae is best known as the man who turned Japanese women's wrestling into the premier global force, mentoring Saori YOSHIDA, Icho, Tosaka and numerous others to international glory.

But the allegations against Sakae and a resulting investigation revealed a coach who wielded uncontested power, and resulted in his dismissal from all of his posts. The fact that he used it against such a national hero such as Icho---in one case leaving her off the Japan team to the Asian Games---was all the more shocking. It appears he was venting anger for her defying him and changing her training base from Shigakkan in central Japan to Tokyo, where she wanted to practice with a men's team.

Besides the banishing of Sakae, the incident led to reforms by the Japan Wrestling Federation, which issued an apology to Icho. Most noteworthy is that the federation changed the system for selecting the national women's team.


In the Japan system, if the same wrestler wins titles at both the Emperor's and Meiji Cups, they automatically earn a berth on the Japan team. If there are different winners, the two face each other in a playoff. This was always the case for the men, but was used for the first time this year for the women -- their places had previously been decided by the federation, with Sakae having the most influence.

With the sordid affair behind her, Icho was able to start focusing on the task ahead, having quelled rumors of her retirement by deciding to go for a fifth Olympic gold. 

"From April, she started training two times a day," said Masanori OHASHI, the manager at ALSOK, a home security company that sponsors a number of top wrestlers including Rio 2016 silver medalist Shinobu OTA and Paris 2017 world champion Yuki TAKAHASHI. "But she was not yet close to full strength, so she couldn't go all out. She gradually picked up the pace little by little."

There were also light times after Rio. After winning the gold to become the first woman in Olympic history to win golds at four consecutive Olympics, Icho was awarded the prestigious National People's Award from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, an honor bestowed on only a handful of truly outstanding athletes, entertainers or others who inspire the nation with their exploits. 

In September last year, she traveled to Iran at the request of that nation's federation. There she conducted clinics for women's wrestling coaches, part of that country's drive to include women in the sport. 

The harassment scandal, investigation and conclusion took up the first four months of the year. In May, she headed to New York where, according to the NBC Sports website, she did a high school clinic in Brooklyn, worked out with fellow Olympic champion Helen MAROULIS (USA) and watched the Beat the Streets in Manhatten. 

While she may be out of the spotlight abroad, Icho won't be able to avoid it on Sunday. According to the Japan federation website, Japan two's major wire services, 17 general and sports newspapers, six TV networks and four magazines have applied for media credentials -- not all that different than for the national championships.

Icho has certainly earned her status as one of Japan's greatest athletes, male or female, of all time. In addition to her four Olympic golds (the first two at 63kg, the second two at 58kg), she won 10 world titles dating back to 2002, and never lost in a final in either competition.

Just how dominant has Icho been? Before a stunning loss to Orkhon PUREVDORJH (MGL) by technical fall in the final of the Yarygin Grand Prix in January 2016, Icho strung together 108 consecutive wins in domestic and international competition, according to records on the Japan federation website. 


And that takes into account a loss by default at the 2007 Asian Championships. Icho was injured at the time, but to be eligible for Beijing 2008, she had to enter the continental tournament. So she had little choice but to take the black mark, and give HOU Min-Wen (TPE) an unexpected victory.

Prior to that, she had strung together 81 wins. So taking into consideration only matches in which she actually stepped onto the mat, Icho had an incredible streak of 189 wins. 

That streak started following a loss at the Klippan Open in 2003 to Sara MCMANN (USA) -- a defeat that Icho would avenge six times over, including in two major finals, at the New York 2003 world championships and Athens 2004 Olympics.

For the record, Icho heads to Mishima with a 7-match winning streak. How many it eventually becomes is less important than making sure it doesn't stop at Tokyo 2020.

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Olympic Champs Fumita, Higuchi Emerge Unscathed on Return Since Paris 2024

Thursday, May 21, 2026 - 15:09 By Ken Marantz

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TOKYO (May 21) -- They both were returning to the mat for the first time since winning gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and both moved up a weight class, for now, with the next Olympic qualifiers still far off.

And each was watched and cheered on for the first time by their most precious fan.

Kenichiro FUMITA and Rei HIGUCHI shook off the rust and emerged unscathed on Thursday to advance to their respective finals at the Meiji Cup All-Japan Invitational Championships at Tokyo's Komazawa Gym.

Fumita, the Paris gold medalist at Greco 60kg, handily won two matches to secure a spot in the 63kg final on Friday, where he will face 2025 world team member Manato NAKAMURA in a bid for his first Meiji Cup title since 2022 and fifth overall.

Higuchi, who struck gold in Paris at freestyle 57kg, needed three wins to set up a showdown in the 61kg final with defending champion and former world bronze medalist Toshihiro HASEGAWA.

Arash YOSHIDA, coming off winning a second straight freestyle 97kg gold at the Asian Championships, also advanced to the finals on the opening day of the four-day Meiji Cup, which is serving as the second of two domestic qualifiers for both this year's World Championships and, in the Olympic weight classes, the Asian Games that will be hosted by Japan.

Winners from the first qualifier, the Emperor's Cup All-Japan Championships held in December, can clinch a spot with a victory at the Meiji Cup; if the two champions are different, a playoff will be held at the end of the day.

Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN)Kenichiro FUMITA (JPN) hits a four-point throw in his round one bout. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Ikuo Higuchi)

Fumita, the Tokyo Olympic silver medalist and two-time world champion, had planned to return to competition at the Emperor's Cup, but was forced to withdraw due to injury.

As for the move up to 63kg, he said, "Looking at the competitions and my own personal objectives, and my current physical ability, I decided to enter at 63kg. I've really on been on edge up to this point leading up to the competition. It's quite a few years since I've had a match at Komazawa. But I feel great, and was able to enjoy myself."

The return from a long layoff can be as testing mentally as it is physically, and Fumita used the experiences of others to guide him through it.

"I thought I would feel more pressure," said Fumita, who advanced to the final with a 7-1 victory over Kensho NATAMI in the semifinals. "After Paris, I watched [fellow gold medalists] Kotaro [KIYOOKA] and Nao [KUSAKA] up close before their [comeback] matches, and both said they were very nervous.

"Having seen that, it gave me an image of what to expect. I stayed calm and, staying aware of what was going on around me, I felt I was able to control the matches."

Helping calm his nerves was the lilty voice of a child clearly heard amid the sparse crowd on the opening day as she yelled, "Papa, ganbatte (fight hard)!" For the first time, the oldest of his two
daughters, now 3, was old enough to see him compete and understand what he was doing.

Fumita related the emotions he went through seeing fellow Nippon Sport Science University alumnus Shota TANOKURA being inspired by his son loudly yelling that set phrase as he ended his career at the Meiji Cup two years ago.

"I was very moved seeing how he responded," Fumita said. "To continue my career and win with my children with me is really a special feeling. Here, I am wholeheartedly determined to perform for them."

Fumita said there are still aspects of his job about which his daughter is blissfully oblivious.

"Sometimes I take [my daughter] to practice. For her, it is really a fun place. So she thinks I go to a fun place every day and I'm just someone who plays all the time," he said with a laugh.

Fumita already has a memento from his first competition in over two years -- a gash over his left eye that was treated with tape wrapped around his head.

"It happens a lot in practice and in matches," Fumita said. "I have many photos of me in the past with my head taped. It gave me a feeling of going back to my roots, which I thought was great."

Higuchi, who like Fumita is 30, an alumnus of NSSU and is sponsored by children's clothing giant Miki House, was wrestling for the first time in front of his 2-year-old daughter (and like Fumita, he has a second infant daughter).

"She kind of knows what's going on," said Higuchi, who defeated world U23 bronze medalist Akito MUKAIDA 12-1 in the semifinals.

Rei HIGUCHI (JPN)Rei HIGUCHI (JPN) reached the 61kg final at the Meiji Cup. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Ikuo Higuchi)

For Higuchi, a battle with weight loss proved more daunting than any opponent he faced on the mat on Friday. He normally should have had no trouble making weight at 61kg, but said he didn't manage it correctly.

"It was my first competition in awhile, and my preparation did not go so well," he said. "There are parts that I have to work on. All went well in practice, but I need to do better at conditioning and cutting weight or I won't be able to win out in December [at the Emperor's Cup]."

A notoriously slow starter, Higuchi said he gradually began to find his groove, culminating in his one-sided win over Mukaida.

"My first match, my movement was not very good," he said. "The water loss as a I cut weight didn't go so well either, so the first and second matches were touch and go.

"During the second match, I was able to get in gear. In the third match in the semifinals, my opponent was third at the world U23, which normally should have been a close match. But I was able to put on a fairly good performance, which I give a grade of 80 [out of 100]."

Higuchi is looking forward to mixing it up with another high-level opponent, one he knows quite well. Hasegawa is yet another NSSU alumnus who still trains at the facility.

"From an emotional viewpoint, I was really excited about facing tough opponents," Higuchi said. "Tomorrow, Hasegawa is world-class wrestler. I don't know if I will win or lose, but I'm really happy to be able to have such a showdown on this big stage."

Arash YOSHIDA (JPN)Asian champion Arash YOSHIDA (JPN) returned to the final of Meiji Cup at 97kg. (Photo: wrestling-spirits.jp / Ikuo Higuchi) 

At 97kg, defending champion Yoshida stormed to a pair of 10-0 victories, defeating Satoshi MIURA, a 2025 world U23 bronze medalist at 86kg, in the semifinals to advance to the final against teenager Noah LEIBOWITZ.

The final will be a repeat of the gold-medal match at the Emperor's Cup, which Yoshida won 11-0.

Leibowitz is now a freshman at Nihon University, from which Yoshida just graduated in March. Since then, he began living on his own for the first time.

"I have to prepare my own meals," Yoshida said on how his life has changed. "Instead of always being with a group, I am living a life on my own. My father brings over dinner every Friday, but other than that, I prepare it myself. My specialty is pork kimchi; actually that's all I can make."

Meanwhile, Taishi NARIKUNI, who attempted a rare freestyle-Greco double at the Asian Championships in Bishkek, advanced to the freestyle 70kg final, where he will face collegiate champion Yuma TOMIYAMA.

In women's action, world U20 bronze medalist Shirin TAKEMOTO pulled an upset of sorts at 72kg, knocking off Asian silver medalist Mahiro YOSHITAKE 11-6 in the semifinals. She will face Chisato YOSHIDA in the final.

At 65kg, Asian silver medalist Nana IKEHATA scored a takedown and stepout in the final 1:10 to edge Misuzu ENAMOTO 4-3 and set up a gold-medal clash with Hiyori MOTOKI, the younger sister of Paris Olympic champion Sakura MOTOKI.