Okayama University Alumnus Rie Katayama Becomes a Double Olympian

July 04, 2012

Specialized mountain biker Rie Katayama, a graduate of Okayama University, has been selected to compete at the London Olympics. This will be her second Olympics after she represented Japan at the Beijing games in 2008.
Katayama earned her bachelor’s degree from the Faculty of Science in 2002, and her master’s degree from the Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology in 2004. She began competitive racing while a member of the university’s cycling club, and notched up her first victory in the Japan Series of 2003. She is currently on a nine-year winning streak in the Japanese cycling championships, and competes mostly in Europe. In Beijing, Katayama placed 20th overall, achieving the top position in the history of all Japanese women cyclists.
Initially, Japan did not earn a place in the women’s mountain biking at London, but withdrawals by the Netherlands and Norway saw places open up. Spain was ahead of Japan in the queue, but declined as well, enabling a slot for Japanese. The Japan Cycling Federation announced on July 2 that Katayama had been added to its team to go to London.
Please join us in cheering for Katayama and the other competitors.

Read a previous interview with Rie Katayama here.
Icho Namiki No.64