Yoshi, photo by Kit Houghton/FEI
I confess that before today just about the only two things I knew about Yoshiaki Oiwa, our surprising overnight Olympic dressage leader, was that he competed for Japan and was nicknamed Yoshi. If you ever have an hour to kill, I suggest reading up on your favorite eventers in their FEI Olympic biographies. I have no idea how or why the FEI compiles the information, but one thing is for certain–very little editing is involved. From the nervous polishing of boots to legal battles, the FEI seems to put anything and everything they can find from a five minute Google search into the bios. A few kernels of wisdom from Yoshi’s FEI Olympic bio (commentary in italics):
Name: Yoshiaki Oiwa
Born: 19 Jul 1976 in Nagoya, JPN
Occupation: Public Relations Professional
Language: English, Japanese
…so far, so good
Name of coach: Dirk Schrade
…interesting, I didn’t know that
Training Regime: He focusses his practice on dressage, a perceived weak area
…not after today
Handedness: Right
…good to know
Hobbies: Driving his car and eating delicious foods
…that’s funny, I have those same hobbies
Hero / Idol: Japanese Imperial Army officer, equestrian show jumper, and Olympic gold medalist Baron Nishi Takeichi
Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs: He always sprinkles some salt on the horse and himself before the ride
Sporting philosophy / motto: Single-minded dedication.
Famous relatives: His aunt, Mieko Fujimori was a Japanese champion figure skater and his uncle, Hiroshi Ishii was a silver medallist swimmer at 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.
Ambitions: To be competitive at the top
…mission accomplished, Yoshi
I’m just going to go get some salt now, and, until next time, stay classy Eventing Nation.
