On 5 August 2021 KyotoU alumnus Toshikazu Yamanishi (Faculty of Engineering 2018) won the bronze medal in the men's 20-kilometer race walk held in Sapporo, Hokkaido as part of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
A former member of the University's track and field club, Mr Yamanishi had previously won 20-kilometer walks at the 29th Summer Universiade (Taipei 2017) and the 17th World Athletics Championships, held 2019 in Doha, Qatar.
Comments from President Nagahiro Minato
As President of Kyoto University, I wish to extend my heartfelt congratulations to Mr Toshikazu Yamanishi on winning the bronze medal in the men's 20-kilometer race walk at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. We are delighted to see such an achievement by an alumnus of Kyoto University and former member of the university track and field club.
Preparing for the race during the Covid-19 pandemic and the uncertainty surrounding the holding of the games must have required a tremendous amount of perseverance and willpower on the part of Mr Yamanishi. Since his university days Mr Yamanishi has been known for his unique approach to training — carefully evaluating data from his training and competitions, actively learning from those around him, and making precise adjustments to his form and movement in order to accomplish his goals. His success in the Olympics was undoubtedly a culmination of those efforts, and such an approach — continually setting personal targets and developing one's own unique style of achieving them — is very much aligned with the spirit of Kyoto University.
I am sure that Mr Yamanishi's achievement will be a great source of hope and courage for all of our students, and that his unwavering dedication and diligence in both his work and his athletic endeavors will serve as a superb source of inspiration.
On behalf of the students, faculty, and staff of Kyoto University, I would like to wish Mr Yamanishi the very best in his continuing endeavors.
