Tokyo 2020, T-shirt worn by climbing bronze medallist Akiyo NOGUCHI (JPN).
Before the Games, Akiyo said: “To tell the truth, I’m not very good at sports in general. The only thing I’ve always loved is climbing. My parents have a cattle farm in Ibaraki, and I loved climbing up trees, climbing onto the roof of the cowshed to play
as a kid. My first experience with sport climbing was on a trip to Guam. I went with my family to a game arcade where they had a climbing wall set up. I had so much fun the very first time I tried it. As it happened, a climbing gym had just opened that year in my hometown, so when I got back to Japan, I immediately became a regular at the gym. What’s never changed is the thrill and sense of accomplishment of being able to
climb something I couldn’t climb before or being able to make a move I couldn’t do before.”
Donated by the athlete