TOKYO: As the country was watching the Keirin Men’s Finals intently to see if Datuk Azizulhasni Awang would bring home the country’s first gold medal, another cyclist became a topic of interest.
Tsutomu Sakamoto, one of the pacers for the cycling events at the Izu Velodrome in Shizuoka, evoked a conversation on Astro Arena as to why “senior citizens” were picked to be the pacer – the cyclist at the front who leads the racers for two laps before breaking away to allow the competitors to start the race proper for the remaining three laps.
The questions were from viewers but clueless hosts were unable to answer these questions.
However, a little research would show that Sakamoto was already an Olympic medallist before Azizulhasni was even born.
He won the bronze in the 1,000m individual sprint at the 1984 Los Angeles Games – behind Americans Mark Gorski and Nelson Vails.
In fact, Sakamoto won the bronze on his 22nd birthday on Aug 3, 1984.
For the Tokyo Olympics, Sakamoto, now 59, was given a Panasonic e-bike to do his job.
His stoic and focused – if not unassuming look belies the fact that Sakamoto is listed as one of the richest sportsmen in Japan.
According to information available, his cycling career has netted him close to anything from RM4.5 to RM20 million in endorsement deals, public appearances and tournament prizes. – The Vibes August 9, 2021.
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