Wearing a white headband with inscriptions in Japanese and wearing his white uniform of the Japanese martial art, Aikido, he thinks about the stadium where he will attend the opening ceremony.
Kazunori can’t believe that a closed session has been enforced for nearly all competitions.
It is a complete disappointment. I don’t even have the strength to cry. I don’t even know if I will be compensated by the organizing committee. Nobody answers me.
Kazunori holds a stack of banknotes in his hands. On top of that, the ticket he got for the opening ceremony. He bought 100 tickets for himself, his friends and relatives. He invested the equivalent of 50 thousand Canadian dollars from his personal savings. Planning took months.
This Tokyo resident wanted to set a Guinness World Record at home for attending most Olympic competitions.
The official record is 128. Kazunori has already participated in 106 competitions. After the Tokyo Olympics, he must have had 134 under his belt.
Kazunori Taskishima at the 2006 Turin figure skating events.
Photo: Kazunori Takeshima
It all started in 2006 in Turin, when a friend invited him to a figure skating competition. Kazunori had no interest in the sport, but from his seat in the last row of the amphitheater he could hear the sound of skates chomping on the ice. He got the shot right away.
Since then, he has participated in every Olympic Games. In summer and winter, he always has a front row seat and rubs his shoulders with athletes wherever he goes. There, he only sleeps four hours a night to enjoy the party.
My friends say I’m competitive and dedicated to my passion like athletes
, He said.
Of all the games, Vancouver 2010 was his favourite. For the quality of the competitions and organization, but also for the extraordinary festive spirit.
Kazunori Takeshima at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
Photo: Kazunori Takeshima
In fact, his romantic relationships with Canadian athletes run deep. Kazunori is proud to display the white skate shoe signed by former skater Kaetlynn Osmond. He managed to get it in the world championship competition. It is his treasure.
He has accumulated all kinds of memories, including the plastic medal given to viewers at the opening ceremony in Sochi or the exclusive pillows for viewers at festivities in South Korea in 2018.
Kazunori Takeshima at the 2018 Olympic Games in South Korea.
Photo: Kazunori Takeshima
He carefully keeps all tickets for the events he attended. His face lights up when he pulls them out of the protective plastic wrap.
Kazunori still hopes, without much hope, to find venues for rare competitions where spectators will be accepted into Japan; Cycling and some soccer games, for example.
I will keep going to the games until I die, these competitions nourish me and give me strength in my personal life, said the 45-year-old.
See you at the Beijing Olympics in February to set a Guinness World Record. Unless foreign viewers are allowed there as well.
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