EXCLUSIVE: Kitajima Is First Athlete to Attend Japanese University via E-Mail

by Hideki Mochizuki

TOKYO, October 13. IN the U.S., sometimes Olympic hopefuls take a year off from college in order to concentrate on making the Olympic team. The same is true in Japan, where national team members often are out of the country for weeks at a time to attend team camps. What is unusual — both here and in the U.S. — is to find a university that supports its Olympic hopefuls, even when they are absent from class as often as they are present.

Kosuke Kitajima, the 100 and 200 meter breaststroke world record-holder, currently is a junior at the Nihon Taiiku Daigaku, or Nippon Sport Science University. Though many international-caliber athletes attend this university, Kitajima is easily the most known student in the school. Aside from Kitajima and the other athlete-celebrities, Nihon Taiiku Daigaku is also infamous because, until this semester, many athletes have been forced to choose between training and school, with most Olympic medal hopefuls choosing to delay their education.

As a result, the Nippon Sport Science University started a new system, beginning October 1, which allows the country's top world-class athletes to fulfill their academic requirements via e-mail. Kitajima became the first athlete to take advantage of this new system.

Kitajima took almost two months off after the World Championships in Barcelona and re-started his training earlier this month. Right now he swims only about 5,000 meters at a time.

Upon learning that his application to continue his education via e-mail had been approved, Kitajima told SwimInfo: "It is true that [before this new program] I was unable to attend enough classes, so I appreciate this new support the university is providing me."

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