No. 11 London Olympics: What Japan has left behind

(Published in the September 15, 2012 issue of Public Relations Inagi)

　The Olympic Games, a midsummer sports festival held once every four years, ended on August 12, 2012, leaving behind a variety of dramas.
I think this is the most difficult region to watch live in Japan due to the time difference, but I'm sure everyone was glued to the TV without worrying about the lack of sleep.
Inagi City has always supported Nippon Television Beleza and Tokyo Verdy, and in order to send off players Iwashimizu, Sakaguchi, and Iwabuchi, who were selected for the women's national soccer team, and Sugimoto, who was selected for the men's national soccer team. On July 4, 2012, a pep rally for the Japan representative was held at the Central Cultural Center Hall.
The soccer competition started before the opening ceremony, and both the women's and men's teams won their first matches and continued to make good progress. The women's team lost to their arch-rival the United States in the final, but they won their first silver medal, while the men's team missed out on a medal, but finished in 4th place, both achieving great results.
The main feature of this tournament was that the women's volleyball team won a medal for the first time in 28 years, and the men's wrestling team won a gold medal for the first time in 24 years. The men's and women's swimmers achieved brilliant results.
Although I decided to participate, I am still concerned about the number of medals. With a total of 38 medals (7 gold, 14 silver, and 17 bronze), they are 11th in the country's medal ranking, but in terms of the total number of medals, they are 6th.
It has been 100 years since Japan first participated in the modern Olympic Games, and it has won the most medals in history, but not only the total number of medals, but also the total number of 8th place finishes, 80, which is the highest in history. I think we can expect further evolution of Japanese sports in the future.
Thank you to all the players who gave courage and excitement to the viewers, thank you very much for your hard work!