Graphic by Charles Nailen/The Hoya /The Hoya
Sport: Swimming
Events: 50, 100 and 200yd Freestyle
Hometown: Tokyo, Japan
High School: St. Mary’s International, Tokyo
School/Year: MSB ’04
Majors: Finance/Accounting
High School Highlights: Qualified for the Japanese Junior National in the 100yd freestyle as a sophomore . Named swimmer of the year sophomore year . Captain of the swim team as a senior . Member of National Honor Society.
Georgetown Highlights: Placed first in the 50yd and 100yd freestyle against Holy Cross . Qualified for the ECAC . Recorded personal best in the 100yd freestyle with a time of 47.86 . 2001: ECAC qualifier . Finished second in the 50yd and 200yd free for Georgetown and third in the 100yd free . Achieved personal best time in the 200yd freestyle with 1:44.97.
Reason for coming to Georgetown: Most people in my high school come to the States for college, and I just came with the rest of them. I wanted to come to the East Coast, and be in a city, and go to a school with business and swimming. Georgetown was just one of those schools.
Hardest thing about coming to the US from Tokyo: I couldn’t keep up with all of the random casual talk shows, like “Survivor.” When I came here that was big, and I’d never seen it before – I didn’t know what they were talking about.
Greatest non-sports related achievement: Being honest and not cheating, not only in academics, but in everything in general.
What do you do to get psyched for a meet? I usually perform poorly if I get psyched, so I just try to stay calm and relaxed. I have my set stretches that I do, and I spit water before I swim.
If you could choose an actor to play you in a movie, who would it be? Edward Norton, just because I think he’s good.
Hardest class you’ve taken at Georgetown: “Buildings and Cities in Japanese History” with Professor [Jordan] Sand. It was hard because we had like 200 to 300 pages of reading per week. When I signed up for it, the course was called “Buildings and Cities in MODERN Japan,” but then I got to the class and all of a sudden it was “history.” It was supposed to be my easy A, but it never happened.
If you could switch lives with any one person for a day, who would it be and why? Ian Thorpe – he’s an Australian swimmer. I want to see how it feels to swim like him.
Favorite thing about swimming: The way you feel in the water. It’s hard to explain -it’s relaxing for one thing, and it also helps me to forget about things.
What’s going through your head when you’re swimming? I’m singing, just about anything. Over a training trip in Puerto Rico I had that Creed song, “One Last Breath,” stuck in my head.
Childhood hobbies: I like playing sports like skiing, tennis and soccer. I probably like those more than swimming. I stuck with swimming because my school had a good program, so I never really got out of it. And my coach was a great guy.
Biggest pet peeve: Smokers.
If you were stranded on a desert island with one book, one CD, and one person, who and what would you bring with you? Book: Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card. It’s Science Fiction. CD: Billy Joel’s Greatest Hits. Person: Caterina, my girlfriend.
Ideal job: A job where I’d have fun, but didn’t have to work if I didn’t want to. I’d also like a long summer vacation.
Three things you always keep in your fridge: Milk, fruits and chocolate.
If you could be great at any other sport, what would it be and why? Soccer, because it’s a team sport, and I haven’t really been in a real team situation.
Person who’s had the greatest impact on your life: Dave oody, my old coach from Japan. He coached me for 12 years, and he taught me to always have fun.
Best concert you’ve ever been to: I’ve only been to one concert in my whole life – it was Michael Jackson. I saw him in Japan when I was eight years old, back when he was still black. It was loud, that’s all I can remember.
Favorite American food: Cheesesteak with peppers and mayo.
Favorite place in Georgetown: The Esplanade. It’s nice and warm, and sometimes I just go up there and read.
Most prized possession: My experience – everything I’ve done so far and every one who has affected me. They’re who I am.
Favorite sports team: The Seattle Mariners because of Ichiro Suzuki and Kazuhiro Sasaki.
Best Georgetown memory, to date: Going 1:44 at the ECAC championships in the 200yd freestyle last year. That was my best time in the 200yd.
Thing you miss the most about Japan: The food, both home-cooking and just in general. Now I just usually cook for myself here.
Best thing you know how to make: Japanese pork cutlets.
One thing that swimming has taught you: Dedication. I’ve been doing the sport for like 14 years or so now – just sticking to one thing like that is really hard. You have your good times and your bad times.
Most interesting person you’ve ever met: Tung-Shen Tsen, a guy back in my high school. He could always just make you laugh and has absolutely no common sense.
Favorite movie: The Professional.
Worst fear: I have claustrophobia – being locked up in a small place.
One thing you want to accomplish before you graduate: I want to keep getting faster.
Coolest place you’ve ever trained: Hawaii, when I was back in high school. It was more of a vacation than actual training. It was a lot of fun, nevertheless. We also went to the [Florida] Keys once, and I once had a meet in Hong Kong.
How many hours a day do you swim? On training trips we do about four hours of swimming and one hour of dry land training, like running, sit-ups and stuff like that. Here we do about two hours and 15 minutes of swimming.
What’s under your bed right now? A hub and a whole lot of dust.