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Special Olympics coach Shoko Yamada |
An extraordinary lady on the swimming front is the head coach of the Special Olympics Nippon (Japan) aquatics team, Shoko Yamada. The powerful force behind the strong and dedicated team, Yamada started swimming as a young child in the river by her house in Kumamoto, southern Japan, in the 1940s.
"I have always loved to swim," she said. "It gives me a sense of freedom — I know I will keep swimming forever."
A youthful 60 years on, Yamada still surrounds herself with the sport she loves. However, it's the coaching of her country's outstanding young athletes that now drives her on. Still competing herself at age 65, Yamada won gold in the freestyle event at the World Masters in Hawaii in 2000.
Her remarkable energy and determination continues to inspire those around her, particularly her eight-strong team, made up of Mamoru Ejima, Tomoyuki Hayashi, Takuji Inoue, Akane Mitsui, Kosuke Morita, Miki Nakagawa, Eriko Sueyoshi and Tae Takubo — who range in age from 17 to 39.
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