Terry Ito Column Vol.29 Amazing! Japan's Olympic Men's Gymnastics

At the Paris 2024 Olympics, the men's gymnastics team won their first gold medal in two Olympics since the Rio de Janeiro Games. They overcame the disappointment of losing to China by 0.103 points at the last Tokyo Olympics with a comeback victory by 0.532 points. Congratulations, Gymnastics Japan! I'm easily influenced, and when I watch live sports on TV, I immediately get motivated and want to get moving. I often leave the house as soon as the broadcast of marathons, baseball, karate, soccer, skating, bowling, surfing, etc. ends. But gymnastics is a no-go, or rather, impossible...

Looking at gymnastics again, the level is so high that there's no way to imitate it, whether it's floor exercise, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars, or high bar. Even when watching floor exercise, the best I can do is do a somersault on my futon or a handstand against the wall. On the pommel horse, the fall occurs when you hit your knee on the corner of the platform and fall. You hold on to the rings, but you can't move, and you can see yourself ending up like laundry hanging out on a balcony. On the vault, your feet get tangled during your run-up, you can't reach the platform, and you fall, having to be rescued by your teammates. You don't have the arm strength to get on the parallel bars, so you can't even get them to parallel from the start. The most difficult thing is the high bar; with the help of a staff member, you get your hands on the bar before the competition starts, but you fall immediately after. Even if you manage to get up, you'll run out of strength at that point.

From the old days, the ultra-C moonsault, the backward one-handed cartwheel, the Adler, and the Cassina, currently ranked among the highest G-class jumps, are incredibly difficult to perform, more difficult than traveling to space alone. Furthermore, the pressure of team sports is truly intense. This time, Japan's absolute ace, Daiki Hashimoto, fell off the pommel horse in his second event. However, his recovery was astounding. "I was struggling, but my teammates gave me a push." ​​He headed into the final event, the horizontal bar, determined not to give up. His performance determines victory and whether he wins the gold medal. Along with skill, he also requires incredible mental strength. In his victory interview, he said with a sweet smile, "I could never have won this gold medal on my own. It's all thanks to the strength of my teammates." I was deeply moved by the beauty of team sports, where you can share victory with your teammates, but I once again realized that gymnastics is something to watch, and that I couldn't achieve it myself. Of all the sports, gymnastics requires the most physical ability. When did they decide to pursue gymnastics? It's interesting to see that he was already aware of his talent when he was in elementary school.

The heatwaves in Tokyo make it difficult to play sports outdoors. So I'm going to the air-conditioned gym on the treadmill and cheer on the Japanese athletes at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Go Nippon!

Terry Ito (director)

Born in Tsukiji, Tokyo in 1949. After attending Waseda Jitsugyo Junior and Senior High School, he graduated from Nihon University's School of Economics.
In March 2023, he completed the Master's program at the Graduate School of Media and Governance at Keio University.
He joined the television production company IVS Television, where he worked on variety shows such as "Tensai Takeshi's Genki ga Deru TV" and "Neruton Benikujidan."
He then went independent and worked on planning and directing a number of television programs, including TV Tokyo's "Asakusabashi Young Clothing Store."
His book "Comedy North Korea" became a bestseller, and he subsequently made numerous media appearances under the name Terry Ito.
In addition to his work as a director, he is also active in a variety of fields as a producer, entertainer, and commentator.
YouTube channelTerry Ito's Comedy Backdrop'
Currently writing a column in LALALA USA
https://lalalausa.com/archives/category/column/terry