Japan To Select Oldest Olympian

[Mulboyne]

IHT: Veteran Japanese rider looks to return to Olympics after 44 years
A 66-year-old equestrian rider is set to become Japan's oldest Olympian at this summer's Beijing Olympics. Hiroshi Hoketsu represented Japan at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 and is preparing to make a comeback in Beijing. Hoketsu, who will turn 67 next month, would surpass the previous record for Japan set by Kikuko Inoue, who represented her country in an equestrian event at the 1988 Seoul Games at age 63. Japanese officials are expected to formally name their Olympic squad next week, and Hoketsu, who has continued riding since the 1964 Games, is a leading candidate to be named to the team. Hoketsu finished 40th in the showjumping event in 1964.

An Asahi article on Hoketsu indicates that he has been living in Germany since 2003, having resigned from his job as company president in order to concentrate on his sport. His wife and daughter remained behind in Tokyo

[L S]

I am defaulting this to the China Olympic thread...

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[B]Olympic athletes choose Japan for training ahead of Beijing Games

The Associated Press
Published: February 7, 2008



TOKYO: Japan is becoming the destination of choice this summer for athletes looking to prepare for the Beijing Olympics while dodging China's notorious pollution.
Germany, Britain, Sweden and the Netherlands have arranged for some of their athletes to train in Japan ahead of the Olympics, according to the Japan Olympic Committee. More are expected to follow.
The Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's largest daily newspaper, reported that as many as 20 countries could have their athletes train in Japan before the Aug. 8-24 Beijing Olympics.
Japan's proximity to China and its modern facilities make it an attractive place for athletes to prepare for the Olympics.
A flight from Tokyo to Beijing takes less than four hours and there are many direct flights to Beijing from cities in western Japan.
Sweden will set up a training camp in Fukuoka for 150 athletes while Belgium is looking at a training facility in nearby Kumamoto.
Jana Rawlinson of Australia, the world champion in the 400-meter hurdles, said she'll train in Japan and arrive in Beijing on Aug. 15 — a week after the Games open.
Rawlinson acknowledged the pollution might not be as bad as expected but still plans to train elsewhere.
"I am going to avoid it until I have to race in it," Rawlinson said.
Other athletes and officials were reluctant to publicly cite air pollution and food quality in China as reasons for training in Japan.
"We picked the same place where we prepared last year for the world championships (in Osaka) because we had a very good experience there," Eberhard Vollmer, a spokesman for the German athletics federation, said Thursday. "The climate is nearly identical, we can work off the jet lag and just the entire surroundings were good."
Vollmer said concerns over air quality in Beijing weren't behind the decision to have German athletes train in Japan.
Britain's swim team, which took part in a meet in Japan last summer, also will train in Osaka.
"We chose Osaka for the familiarity of the area for the British swimmers and coaches and the quality of the facility," said David Richards, media manager for British Swimming. "It also has easy access to Beijing."
In attempt to curb air pollution during the Games, Beijing organizers plan to close factories, halt construction and ban more than 1 million vehicles from the roads.
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[Mulboyne]

Guardian: Japan's 'silver shadow' defies age barrier

Rising at the crack of dawn and crunching 50 sit-ups before breakfast, record-breaking Japanese Olympian Hiroshi Hoketsu bristles when asked about his age. But the equestrian rider, who at the age of 67 will become Japan's oldest Olympic representative at the Beijing Games in August, has grudgingly begun to accept his new-found fame. "Initially I was a little reluctant about having my age splashed across the news," Hoketsu told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday. "I didn't see why my age should be such a big thing. It wasn't relevant. I wasn't selected for the Olympics because I'm 67"... "I was back in Germany when the Japanese media started kicking up a fuss about me so I hadn't experienced the storm first hand until now," said Hoketsu. "It's not as if I'm going to win a medal at the Olympics so obviously the reason for the interest is my age. I'm beginning to feel my age with all the fuss but I want to show that I'm actually getting better as I get older." Hoketsu insists he has no secret formula for appearing to have defied the ageing process, beyond waking up before sunrise and riding his horse across dew-wet fields. "I haven't smoked for 30 years but I used to smoke and drink so it's not like I'm that stoic," he smiled. "I always woke up at 5 a.m. and go for a ride before going to the office...more...

[succubusqueen]

IHT: Veteran Japanese rider looks to return to Olympics after 44 years
A 66-year-old equestrian rider is set to become Japan's oldest Olympian at this summer's Beijing Olympics. Hiroshi Hoketsu represented Japan at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 and is preparing to make a comeback in Beijing. Hoketsu, who will turn 67 next month, would surpass the previous record for Japan set by Kikuko Inoue, who represented her country in an equestrian event at the 1988 Seoul Games at age 63. Japanese officials are expected to formally name their Olympic squad next week, and Hoketsu, who has continued riding since the 1964 Games, is a leading candidate to be named to the team. Hoketsu finished 40th in the showjumping event in 1964.

An Asahi article on Hoketsu indicates that he has been living in Germany since 2003, having resigned from his job as company president in order to concentrate on his sport. His wife and daughter remained behind in Tokyo

I hope he doesnt break his hip!:(

[Charles]

I never understood why the medals were not awarded to the horse, rather than the rider.