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Olympic heroes to receive Tokyo American Club honor

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Tokyo American Club will honor Olympic hammer thrower Koji Murofushi, Paralympic long jumper Mami Sato and Tokyo 2020 bid committee chiefs Masato Mizuno and Tsunekazu Takeda for their achievements in sports at a presentation ceremony at its facility in Azabudai on Friday.

Recipient of Sportsman of the Year award, Murofushi is the 2004 Olympic gold medalist and sits on international athlete committees as a proponent of anti-doping education. Three-time Paralympian Sato, the club’s Sportswoman of the Year, was the introductory speaker during Tokyo’s final 2020 Olympics bid presentation and carried the torch at the Sochi Paralympic Games. Honorees of the Sports Lifetime achievement award, Mizuno and Takeda spearheaded the presentations and lobbying efforts that led to Tokyo’s earning the right to host the 2020 Olympic Games.

“These four recipients were selected for their outstanding achievements in sports and their dedication to the advancement of the Olympic and Paralympic movements. In particular, their efforts and examples played a key role in Tokyo’s selection as the host city for the 2020 Summer Olympics and Paralympics,” says Jeff McNeill, a member of the committee that selected the recipients. “We are honored to have them as our sports award recipients for 2014.”

The Sportsman of the Year award was established in 1989 to honor individuals who have made significant contributions to sport in Japan. The club later introduced the Sportswoman of the Year and Sports Lifetime Achievement awards.

Past honorees of the club’s sports awards include sumo wrestler Konishiki (1991), tennis player Kimiko Date (1994), baseball’s Ichiro Suzuki (1995), swimmer Kosuke Kitajima (2005), figure skater Mao Asada (2010) and professional golfer Ryo Ishikawa (2011).

© Japan Today

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