Before achieving his goal of swimming at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Shoon Mitsunaga has another dream he'd like to fulfill -- playing at Koshien Stadium for the national high school baseball title.
Mitsunaga, a first-year student at Nihon University Buzan High School in Tokyo, has emerged as a rare example of a high school athlete competing on a high level in two sports.
In the pool, Mitsunaga set the national junior high school record in the 50-meter butterfly, making him a prospect for the Paris Olympics in three years. On the baseball diamond, he is a hard-hitting outfielder.
Blessed with a 1.90-meter, 78-kilogram physique, Mitsunaga finished second in the 100 butterfly at the Inter-High School Championships in August. Mitsunaga had posted the fastest time in the qualifying heats, but failed to hold onto the lead he established in the final and faded to second in 53.27 seconds.
"I'm really disappointed," Mitsunaga said. "I wanted to win three years in a row, so I needed to win in as a first-year student."
In baseball, which he started as a first grader, Mitsunaga is a right-handed-hitting slugger. When he was in the sixth grade, he was selected for the Lotte team in the 12-team NPB Junior Tournament, and in junior high school, was a key player on the Keiyo Boys, which regularly appears at national tournaments.
"I'm confident I have the power to hit the ball far," he said, adding that he had already homered in a practice game soon after starting high school.
"Swimming, baseball, I like them both," he said. "I want to keep doing both until I have nothing left to give."
Mitsunaga was approached by national powerhouses in both sports, but chose Buzan because it offered an environment to make the challenge as a two-sport athlete.
This summer, the baseball team missed out on Koshien after losing in the fifth round of the East Tokyo tournament. "I want to work hard with everyone so I can get to place where I can aim for Koshien," he said.
Buzan's swimming team had a presence at this summer's Tokyo Olympics with the appearance of third-year student Konosuke Yanagimoto.
"It's motivating to have someone like that so close by," Mitsunaga said. "I'm looking forward to seeing how competitive I can be at the Japan Championships three years from now," referring to the meet that will be the domestic qualifier for the Paris Olympics.
His unprecedented journey has just begun.
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