For Ryo Kito, resident of Sydney, the Olympics has a special place in his heart.
Kito, who was previously a competitive swimmer himself, retired and went to work in IT for several years. He had always thought of becoming a coach, but leaving a stable IT job was not an easy decision.
The Sydney Olympics, where he worked as a volunteer was an eye opener. The push on his back was strong enough for Kito to leave IT.
Fast forward 21 years, Kito is now a head coach at Narrabeen Swimming, and has produced both State and National representative swimmers in pool and open water categories.
Kito will be heading over to Tokyo for the Olympics as an assistant for broadcaster, and though excited to be in action, does not hide his worries over the pandemic.
"I do worry about the strict regulations over covid"
For the swimmers, Kito believes that having no spectators may work as an advantage, especially for the younger athletes.
"Most often, first time Olympians are are overwhelmed by the immense crowd and can become nervous, that you see bit of a difference between first timers and those that are not"
But without spectators, the swimmers will be able to show their true potential without being nervous.
Kito says that the Australia's women's team are looking stronger than ever before, with Ariarne Titmus recording the second-fastest time in 400m freestyle, and Kylie McKeon setting a world record in the 100m backstroke.
On the men's side, 22-year-old Zac Stubblety-Cook will be competing in Japan's signature event, the 200m breaststroke. At the Olympic trials, Stubblety-Cook set a new national and commonwealth record with a time of 2:06.28. In the same event, there are also high expectations for 19-year-old Shoma Sato, a rising star who has been called the "successor to Kosuke Kitajima" - who won gold medals at the men's 100 m and 200 m breaststroke events at the Athens 2004, and the Beijing 2008 Games.
Kito says that the men's 200m breaststroke has so many medal contenders, that "anyone can win, most likely with a world record"
The swimming competition will be held for nine days starting July 24, with a total of 35 events. The first race will be the men's 400m medley relay, where Japan's favourite Daiya Seto is tipped to stand on the podium.
In the Japan Open held in June, where he won the relay, Seto said 'If I can swim the race I envision, then yes, I can win the race 99%. To be honest, I think my rival is myself" during the press conference.
Kito says that the beauty of the Olympics is that unexpected will always happen.
"Dark horses could come to the top"
"Don't just cheer for your own country or strong countries. Enjoy the overall sport"
LISTEN TO
鬼頭亮コーチに聞く東京五輪 日豪競泳の見どころ
SBS Japanese
20/07/202111:20
Listen to SBS Japanese Radio on Tue, Thu and Sat from 10pm
