“TRUTH in Sport” × “TRUTH in ME”

The PLAY TRUE RELAY is a Tokyo 2020 legacy project in which a wide range of athletes from different countries, sport and generations take part to leave a legacy of the “TRUTH” in sport, embracing the world and the future.

The “TRUTH” that each athlete has found through sport and in living will be inscribed as a message in the unique Makimono － traditional Japanese scroll paper to pass important message － and this Makimono is relayed as a message to the world, and to the future.

Truth 30

Yasuhiro YamashitaJapanJudo

『Anyone Can Become a Champion in Life』

Fair play is fundamental to sport above all else. Doping is a most cowardly, unfair act that goes against the spirit of fair play and sportspersonship. Even if it was inadvertent or simply that one was not careful enough in making a decision, if an athlete is found to have potentially violated anti-doping rules, it is the athlete who will be held liable.

Truth 29

Sergi SamperKingdom of SpainFootball

『Doing One’s Best, and Engaging Teammates to Work Together』

The biggest value I find in sport is doing one’s best. In the case of football – a team sport – it is also to engage in friendly rivalry with teammates while working and cooperating with each other to play matches against opponents.

Truth 28

Felicia GrimmenhagKingdom of SwedenPara-Equestrian

『A Partnership Is Indispensable for Success』

Hard work brings people success, but success means different things to different people. That is what I learnt through sport.

Truth 27

Jessica FoxAustraliaCanoe Slalom

『Sport Is a Reflection of a Person’s Character』

There are many incredible and amazing moments in sport, but then there have also been really challenging training sessions or training camps that pushed me and tested me both physically and mentally.

Truth 26

Jeong Min LeeRepublic of KoreaPara Nordic Skiing

『Sport as a Tool that Reflected My Ego and Helped Me Overcome Difficulties』

Sport gives me confidence in myself as I am. Through sport, I realised that I have a unique characteristic like no one else, which I should make the most of.

Truth 25

Chen YibingPeople’s Republic of ChinaArtistic Gymnastics

『Devoting One’s Full Attention; Seeing It Through to the End: (Zhuānzhù (専注) and Jiānchí (堅持)) 』

For 24 years of my life, from the age of five until I retired at 29, I devoted myself to a single sport – gymnastics. What I learnt and became my belief from those times can be expressed in two Chinese words, Zhuānzhù (専注) and Jiānchí (堅持).

Truth 24

Roger JacksonCanadaRowing

『The Enemy Is Yourself; Embarking on New Challenges』

What I learned through my competitive career is that we can do far more work than we ever believe we can. When I was working towards my first Olympic Games, I can remember times when I was absolutely exhausted, and I did not think I could do more.

Truth 23

Jessica PilzRepublic of AustriaSport Climbing

『Do Not Shun Hard Work – Enjoy the Process Instead』

The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games are the first Games to be held with sport climbing as an official Olympic sport. I am super happy that I achieved one of my big goals to qualify to take part in such memorable Olympic Games.

Truth 22

Yui KamijiJapanWheelchair Tennis

『How Should I Be as a Person?』

I started playing tennis at age 11. I have met many people and seen a lot of wonderful things about each of them. Whether about my tennis style or me as a person, I want to take the good elements of other people, internalise them a little bit at a time, and become a collection of such things.

Truth 21

Sebastian CoeThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandAthletics （Middle-Distance）

『Sport, a Language Uniquely Spoken』

Sport itself is something unique. I genuinely think that sport is a common language that everyone in the world can understand and has a feel for – that is sport. People engage with sport on different levels.

Truth 20

Marija ŠestakRepublic of SloveniaAthletics - Triple Jump

『Think Positively in Any Situation』

In 2007, I represented Slovenia in the triple jump at the 11th IAAF World Championships, held in Osaka. I placed fifth at the time. However, the samples taken back then from the two athletes, who had won medals at the event, were later reanalysed – in 2015 and 2017 – and revealed that they had violated anti-doping rules.

Truth 19

Pita TaufatofuaKingdom of TongaTaekwondo, Cross Country Skiing

『“Olympian” is Someone Who Gives Their Best to Be Better than They Were Yesterday』

Through sport I learnt the importance of training, and that you can overcome adversity and challenges by having self-discipline and being strong in both body and mind.

Truth 18

Heinrich PopowFederal Republic of GermanyPara athletics – 100m, 200m, and long jump

『Sport is the Best Medicine』

If you are honest with yourself, then you can be successful. That is what sport proved to me. In sport, if you lie to yourself, you will see it in the results.

Truth 17

Barbara KendallNew ZealandSailing (Lechner)

『Being True to Who I Am at All Times』

Having lived as an athlete since I was 16, I learned many things that I needed in life from sport.I think that when anybody plays sport, they learn about motivation. They learn about goal setting, seeing the big picture, and dedication.

Truth 16

Minato OikeJapanBMX Freestyle Park

『Give All to Playing and Enjoying Myself』

Unlike other sport in general, BMX has a unique culture that is shared around the world. Riding and watching a BMX bike is really fun.

Truth 15

Akito WatabeJapanNordic Combined

『Sport as a Starting Point』

One of the things that I started feeling at around the time of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games was that while there are ups and downs in life, it all comes out even in the end. The good and the bad alternate, so that bad things follow good things, and vice versa.

Truth 14

Chelsey GotellCanadaPara Swimming

『A Positive Life Brought About by Sports』

I was born with a congenital vision impairment arising from oculocutaneous albinism. Although I grew up visually impaired, my parents never allowed me to use my vision as an excuse not to participate in sport.

Truth 13

Saori YoshidaJapanWrestling

『Dream Enables Me to Train Hard』

My whole life up to now has been about wrestling. My father was a freestyle wrestler, who became a coach after retiring as an athlete. Following in my father’s footsteps, my two older brothers already had started wrestling when I began wrestling. My mother was an athlete, too—a tennis player.

Truth 12

Marsha CoxRepublic of South AfricaHockey

『Love what you do! Do it with pride!』

You must find fun and joy in something if you’re going to do it with dedication, because the passion that enables it arises from the spirit of enjoyment.

Truth 11

Ayaka Takahashi & Misaki MatsutomoJapanBadminton

『A spirit of persistence and gratitude』

It’s been about six months since we got our gold medal in the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games. When I look back at that experience with a cooler head, I’m really glad that I stuck at it with persistence and never gave up.

Truth 10

Nguyen Thai BinhSocialist Republic of Viet NamSnowboard

『Adventure Invited by the “Power of Sport”』

The first time I ever glided on snow was four days before the snowboard slalom event at the 2017 Sapporo Asian Winter Games. The “power of sport” had taken me who had never even seen snow to Sapporo’s snow-covered landscape.

Truth 09

K.C. DeepakFederal Democratic Republic of NepalPara Table Tennis

『Play Sport, Earn Dignity, and Break the Barriers!!』

Sport is what gives me my get-up-and-go. Sport gives me the courage to take on challenges. Para-sport has the power to move society.

Truth 08

Jonathan TAN & Glen LIMRepublic of SingaporeSwimming

『Never giving up, and the dedication to pursue your dream』

Swimming means everything to me right now. This is because in the 14 years of my life so far, I have dedicated almost 70% of my time to swimming. It’s the same for me. Swimming means everything.

Truth 07

Nurbek ToichubaevKyrgyz RepublicParatriathlon

『My Motto of Life』

I have only one arm. It is a physical disability, but it is not a negative. Whether a physical disability is a hindrance or not is up to each individual.

Truth 06

Rafael Soares SilvaFederative Republic of BrazilAthletics - Marathon

『Esperança is given only to those who seek it』

The way I see it, each of us as a person has been blessed by God with a particular talent. I was given the talent of being able to run fast. I thank God for giving this great talent to me, feel great happiness because of it, and keep my esperança (hope) alive. That keeps me running.

Truth 05

Eilish McColganThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandAthletics - Steeplechase/Middle and Long Distance Runner

『No Shortcut to Glory』

“Aim for the highest cloud, so that if you miss it, you will hit a lofty mountain.” Always aim for the highest cloud in the sky. Doing that, even if you don’t reach it, you will still be able to stand on a peak. From there, the highest cloud isn’t so far off.

Truth 04

Ben SandfordNew ZealandSkeleton

『Enjoy and Respect the Challenge』

Sport is full of challenges. The process of self-improvement involves difficulties that have to be faced to pass through.

Truth 03

Claudia BokelFederal Republic of GermanyFencing

『Clean Sport is Big Asset of Life』

Sport has taught me a lot. There’s a lot to be learnt from both the joy of winning and the experiences of losing. Developing our skills is not the only thing we can gain through hard training.

Truth 02

Jineiry MartinezDominican RepublicVolleyball

『Sport has made me strong!』

More than anything, when I’m playing volleyball, I try to have no fear. To continue to play hard and not fear making mistakes, I always try to play with a smile on my face, staying positive at all times no matter what the situation.

Truth 01

Koji MurofushiJapanAthletics - Hammer Throw

『Rules Breed Beauty』

The restrictions in sport are the rules. In hammer throw in particular, from the size of the circle to the opening range of throwing cage, —all of these are pre-set. A hammer thrower then goes through a continuous process of trial and error in determining what can be accomplished within those restrictions through training.

MAP