UTSUNOMIYA -- The Tokyo 2020 Olympic Torch Relay traversed Tochigi Prefecture on Sunday and Monday, and the husband of one of the runners was a torchbearer for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Miyoko Kuboniwa, 73, ran in the final leg of the Motegi section on Sunday, and her husband Takao, 74, who was a torchbearer in the 1964 relay, waited for her at the finish at the Michi no Eki Motegi.
The roadside rest area complex of shops and eateries was the designated goal for the section in the town of Motegi. Takao stood there wearing his 1964 torch relay bib and holding the torch from 57 years ago as she arrived.
"It's a miracle that a husband and wife each ran in two separate torch relays," Miyoko said.
They studied at the same junior high and high schools in the town, with Takao a school year ahead.
Takao was a member of the athletics team at the high school when he was chosen to run in the 1964 relay. He also took an oath representing relay runners.
The couple went on to work at the town office and married in 1972.
Both Miyoko and Takao applied for the 2020 relay. In her application, she expressed her passion for her 20-plus years of activities to pass local folktales to future generations.
"Folklore warms people's hearts and connects people," she wrote in the application. "Likewise, a relay also connects people."
When she was chosen to run in the relay, she said: "I felt a kind of destiny. I almost cried."
Even though the relay was postponed last year, she kept working out around their home and at a nearby athletics park. Sometimes, she used her husband's torch to "rehearse" a relay and people cheered her from their cars.
"While thanking every one, I had to continue to wait," Miyoko recalled.
When Miyoko completed her leg on Sunday, a smiling Takao praised her after watching her running easily, saying, "You did good job."
Miyoko plans to decorate the guest room of their house with her torch along with her husband's torch. The two torches 57 years apart are proof of another connection for the couple.
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