Mai Murakami became the first Japanese gymnast to win an Olympic medal in an individual women's artistic gymnastics event on Monday when the 24-year old won bronze in the floor exercise.
Murakami bolstered her score with high-difficulty moves at the beginning of the performance, finishing in a tie for third place with 14.166 points, sharing the bronze medal.
This is the second medal for Japan in women's gymnastics, after the bronze medal in the team all-around at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
She reflected on her accomplishment in a press conference in Tokyo on Tuesday, saying, "It was such a happy day that I don't want this day to end."
She reached the pinnacle of the world championships in 2017, but suffered a back injury in 2019 and was restricted from practicing in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It's been five years of ups and downs [since competing in the Rio de Janeiro Games], but nothing has changed my desire to win a medal. That's why I won the bronze medal," she said with a smile.
As for the future, she is looking forward to the World Championships in Kitakyushu in October. "As a medalist, I want to give a good performance."
On the 12-meter-square floor, Murakami gave a dynamic performance on Monday. She carefully connected her powerful somersaults and turns to conclude her 1-1/2-minute performance.
With the medal for the individual event around her neck, Murakami burst into tears of joy. "I am honored to be the one who rewrites history," she said.
American Jade Carey, 21, won gold and 30-year-old veteran Vanessa Ferrari of Italy took silver.
The soon-to-be 25-year-old Murakami is also a veteran. Her performance, which included a lot of difficult moves, was not inferior to that of the other competitors, many of whom were around 20 years old.
She shared third place with 21-year-old Angelina Melnikova of the Russian Olympic Committee, who also scored 14.166 points.
As female athletes age, their body shape changes and they often lose the ability to perform well. Murakami was 1.32 meters tall when she was a second-year junior high school student. She is now 1.48 meters tall, and she is still able to perform big tricks such as the Silivas.
The reason behind her success is her basic technique. When Murakami was a child, the Ukrainian coach at the gymnastics club she attended taught her how to do handstands and how to turn somersaults with maximum efficiency.
Akiko Akena, a former member of the Japanese national team who knew Murakami at the time, said, "An athlete with only momentum cannot regain it if technique goes wrong. She has been able to be successful for a long time because she not only relies on her natural leg strength, but also has the right technique."
Even after a back injury kept her out of competitions and the COVID-19 pandemic limited her training, she came back to compete at the top of the world.
"I can say with certainty that the performance was the culmination of my efforts," Murakami said.
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