I want to inspire the girls out there watching right now, says Naomi Osaka ahead of Olympic debut
Jul 10, 2021
Lausanne [Switzerland], July 10 : The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Friday released a video featuring tennis superstar Naomi Osaka, as she prepares to make her Olympic debut later this month at Tokyo 2020.
The video is the third amongst a series of five first-person, athlete narratives intended to build excitement for the upcoming Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Osaka's video follows Tony Hawk and Usain Bolt, each echoing the broader message of "Stronger Together."
Ahead of her participation in Tokyo 2020, Osaka in the video says, "People might think I'm quiet. Different. That I don't fit the box of what an Olympian should be. But I'm proof that the definition is bigger than people think."
Osaka delivers a deeply motivating message, "I want to inspire the girls out there watching right now. The ones that some people think are too different. Too quiet. Too something. And if we don't fit that expectation of what people think we're supposed to be, good! That just means we're the ones who get to change it."
The Naomi Osaka story is part of the IOC's "Stronger Together" campaign, which celebrates the strength, resilience, and determination of athletes to bring hope, unity, and inspiration to people around the world. The initial campaign story featured world-renowned athletes, including past, present, and future Olympians Usain Bolt, Andre Degrasse, Yusra Mardini, and Nyjah Huston; it also included skateboarding icon Tony Hawk before the sport's Olympic debut.