Warm greetings from the SEISA Group! 

 

We are very pleased to announce that Mr. Ghirmay Ghebreselassie, whom Mr. Miyazawa has been supporting over the years, won the 4^thprize in the marathon at the 2016 Rio Olympics. The article on his success appeared in the Asahi Shinbun, a popular national newspaper. We are happy to share the news with you!

 

From the article in the Asahi Shinbun (translated),

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The 20 Years Old New Marathon Star, Aiming for Tokyo 2020

Ghirmay Ghebreselassie (Eritrea, Marathon)

 

The 20 years old with a mustache, presents himself to be older than his actual age. Even though it was his first time at the Olympics, he was calm and said, “I didn’t really get nervous before the race.” 

He stunned the world when he won the world marathon title in 2015, representing Eritrea, a country that has not yet made its name known in the marathon world. More astonishing, he was a teenager winning the championship.

 

Eritrea, at the southern end of the Red Sea in northeast Africa, is a small country that gained its independence from Eritrea in 1993. It is one of the poorest countries in the world, and Mr. Yasuo Miyazawa (67), President of Seisa Group that operates educational institutions such as distance education colleges, has been privately helping the people in Eritrea by building practical training schools for them.  Since three years ago, he has also been supportive of the Eritrean track and field team.

 

Next to Eritrea is located Ethiopia, the country for marathon runners.  Mr. Miyazawa said he had the instinct that the Eritrean athletes would be great at marathon because of their diligent and hardworking personalities.  He saw that the athletes in Eritrea didn’t have money and hence couldn’t participate in competitions.  He then invited them to Japan so they could run in competitions, and introduced them to corporate teams.  Ghirmay Ghebreselassie was one of the athletes who received the opportunity to shine from Mr. Miyazawa.  “I was shocked and delighted at the same time to see a new star come out,” said Mr. Miyazawa. Ghebreselassie did his best with the given opportunity and commented, “We will strive for Eritrea’s bright future.” 

 

At the race, he always kept a good position not so far away from the top runner.  Kipchoge of Kenya, who won the gold medal, started slow but raised his pace right around when he was past 25km.  “I was fine with the change in pace but the rain did it.”  Ghebreselassie couldn’t cope well with the rain and fell behind. He was not able to reach a medal but finished 4^th.

 

 

Seisa has and will continue to support the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, and would like to share new updates with you. We ask for your continued encouragement and that you please stay in touch.