KAWAI Mike

Japan

Equestrian

Date of Birth: 18 Jun 1998

Age: 23

Gender: Male

Place of birth: OSAKA

Birth Country:

Japan

Place of residence : VALKENSWAARD

Residence Country:

Netherlands

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Equestrian	Jumping Team JPN Japan

Schedule

Change

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Equestrian Park	Jumping Team Qualifier	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Athlete:

World Cup Arab League - Middle East

Rank	Event	Year	Location
1	Jumping Individual	2019/2020	Riyadh, KSA
9	Jumping Individual	2019/2020	Riyadh, KSA

Legend
NS - Not Started, DSQ - Disqualified, RT - Retired, WD - Withdrawn, EL - Eliminated

Previous names:

Masako Kawai

Occupation:

Athlete

Languages spoken:

English, Japanese

Club name:

Stal Tops [NED] / Sugitani Riding Club [JPN]

Coach:

Jan Tops [personal], NED

Sporting relatives:

His father Yoshio Kawai has also competed in jumping at international level. (grandprix.info, 12 Nov 2020; fei.org, 10 Jan 2010; globalchampionstour.com, 01 Jan 2018)

Start:

He took up the sport seriously at age 15. (arabnews.jp, 22 Dec 2019)

Reason:

He was encouraged to focus on the sport by his father, who was also a rider. "I rode often when I was young but I quit because I didn't really like it. As I gradually became interested in the sport again, I resumed training every day." (arabnews.jp, 22 Dec 2019; grandprix.info, 12 Nov 2020)

Ambition:

To win gold at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (Den-channel YouTube channel, 21 Feb 2020)

Hero:

Italian rider Alberto Zorzi. (grandprix.info, 12 Nov 2020)

Influence:

His father Yoshio. (grandprix.info, 12 Nov 2020)

General Interest

General
MOVE TO EUROPE
Raised in Osaka, Japan, he moved to the Netherlands in 2016 to train at Stal Tops in Valkenswaard. "When I was age 17, my father said that I would have to win gold at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. I told myself that it would be impossible after a three-year sporting career. The following year, he said that I should make preparations for the 2020 Games at the best stable in the world. As he had taken part in a CSI2* in the Logines Global Champions Tour, he found [coach] Jan Tops. I decided to move to Europe after dropping out of high school. At first everyone laughed at me, but I kept trying to improve." (grandprix.info, 12 Nov 2020; arabnews.jp, 22 Dec 2019; Facebook profile, 14 Dec 2019; globalchampionsleague.com, 19 Jan 2019)

FUTURE PLANS
Speaking in 2020, he said he intends to begin focusing on a career away from the sport after the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. "Until the Tokyo Olympics, I will continue to ride daily, as I'm doing now. Afterwards, I think that I'll go back to Japan to start working for my father's business. You have to earn money at some point in order to keep riding. I'm sure I will continue my sporting career all my life, but not so diligently. I will need to enter the workforce. From time to time, I will be able to return to Europe to compete." (grandprix.info, 12 Nov 2020)

Social Media

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

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