Ayano Shimada, who was selected as a representative of Japan for artistic swimming at the Paris Olympics, is a third-year high school student from Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, and will face her first match in the early hours of August 6.
She is coached by Miho Takeda (now Suzuki), who won five medals in three Olympic Games and shares her “golden words” from her experiences on the big stage.
■ Outstanding performance for a high school student… Selected for Mermaid Japan
Ayano Shimada, 18, who has been selected for the Paris Olympic artistic swimming team, is a third-year student at Suzuka High School in Mie Prefecture.
On July 17, Shimada was seen at “Mie Transportation G Sports no Mori Suzuka.”
Shimada’s strength lies in her impressive expression derived from her core stability, which surpasses that of an average high school student.
In February 2024, she won a bronze medal with her team at the World Swimming Championships in Doha and was selected as a member of “Mermaid Japan.”
Her practice time is eight hours a day.
Shimada:
“Standing still can be quite exhausting, so just being in the water is easier.”
■ Coaching by a “legend” with five Olympic medals from three games
In this pool, artistic swimming is coached by Miho Takeda (currently Suzuki).
Coach Takeda is a “legend” who won five medals in three consecutive Olympic Games starting from the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She moved to Mie Prefecture 16 years ago when her husband, Hidetaka Suzuki, became the governor, and has been coaching local children since 2011. Shimada has been receiving coaching from her since she was in sixth grade.
While Coach Takeda often appears with a smile, she shows a stern expression when in the pool.
Shimada:
“When she gets angry with other athletes, I think it can be scary, but she gives feedback that’s immediately applicable, so it makes it easier for me to correct myself.”
Coach Takeda uses a tablet to record Shimada’s performances while watching the videos, allowing Shimada to review her routines and make detailed corrections.
Coach Takeda evaluates her prized pupil, Shimada, as “an athlete who has what I did not have.”
Coach Miho Takeda:
“She has to be able to use her muscles to stop at the same time as completing a rotation, but she has an incredible ability to balance softness and firmness, which I completely lacked.”
Shimada’s flexibility is commendable, but her ability to halt her movements precisely is what makes her stand out; the balance, acknowledged by the legend, is a blend of innate talent and hard daily effort.
■ Coach Takeda’s “golden words” for Shimada for Olympic success
Ayano Shimada is the first athlete from Mie Prefecture to compete in this sport at the Olympics. She and Coach Takeda have walked a path together for six years, securing their tickets to Paris, but their ultimate goal is to achieve something Japan has yet to accomplish: winning a gold medal.
As someone who has medaled in three consecutive Olympic Games, Takeda offers valuable advice.
Coach Takeda:
“At the Olympics, you don’t need to think, ‘I have to win here’ or focus on others; if you concentrate on what kind of performance you want to deliver, it’s not a scary stage at all, which I finally understood in my third Olympics.”
“Focusing on your own performance without paying attention to your opponents and believing in yourself.” This is the shortcut to winning medals that she discovered 20 years ago.
■ Shimada: “If we can express what we have done”
On July 19, a farewell ceremony was held at Suzuka High School for Shimada.
Shimada:
“I will do my best with the awareness and pride of representing Japan, so that the national anthem can be played on the land of Paris.”
The current students sent her off with a chorus of the school song.
In a subsequent press conference, Shimada stated, “Of course, I want a gold medal, but as long as we can express what we have done in our own way without thinking about other countries, that would be enough,” reminding us of her mentor’s wishes.
Artistic swimming will have its first match in the early hours of August 6.
Broadcast on July 23, 2024