SAKAI Sho

General
ILLNESS STRUGGLES
He has been troubled by the skin condition cholinergic urticaria since 2010. The condition causes hives and limits his training in the pool to one hour. He uses injections and acupuncture therapy as treatment and avoids medication due to concerns about doping violations. "It is like the stinging pain of a needle bring stuck into your skin and, while low body temperature can keep the symptoms under control, it is impossible for me, as an athlete, to do that all the time. In the pool, I sweat after about an hour and it hurts, so I can't concentrate at all. I was even told by a doctor that my body was not suitable for a career as an athlete. That was shocking and it was hard for me to accept that an illness I had never heard of might cause me to stop competing. I hated every day but, after staying at home for two months, I was able to face up to things properly. I am always conscious of keeping my body temperature as low as possible. I also care about my blood sugar levels, and I try to avoid exposure to too much sunlight." In 2019 he also suffered from cyclic vomiting syndrome and, in May 2021, tonsillitis forced him to withdraw from the synchro event at the 2021 World Cup in Tokyo, Japan. (sponichi.co.jp, 03 May 2021; olympics.com, 27 Dec 2020; hochi.news, 04 Jul 2020; yahoo.co.jp, 15 Jun 2019)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
In 2018 he began a weekly radio show named 'Sakai Show Time', talking about his experiences as a diver at a radio station in Sagamihara, Japan. (sagamigekkouda.web.fc2.com, 01 Jun 2019)

FURTHER EDUCATION
He has studied for a postgraduate degree at Nippon Sport Science University in Setagaya, Japan. (olympics.com, 27 Dec 2020)