STREETS Kaito

General
FROM USA TO JAPAN
He was born in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, to an English-American father and a Japanese mother. He moved to the United States of America at age seven because of his father's job. While studying at Pennsylvania State University in the United States of America, he won the sabre event at the 2014 NCAA Championships and represented the US national team until 2015 but, following a conversation with his mother, he decided to compete for Japan with the aim of participating at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. "I watched Japanese fencer Yuki Ota win silver in individual foil at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing on television when I visited my grandmother's house in Kagoshima during the summer holidays. Since then I have dreamed of becoming an Olympic medallist. When I earned All-America honours following my victory in the individual sabre at the 2014 NCAA National Championships, my mother said, 'I want you to be proud of your Japanese blood and participate for Japan in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo'. At that moment, I made a decision to represent Japan." (nishinippon, 24 Feb 2021; edox, 01 Feb 2021; kkb, 05 Jan 2021; Facebook page, 05 Apr 2018; pref.kagoshima.jp, 25 Jan 2018; mercurynews男子棍术, 08 Apr 2014)