At 500 meters for men, Wataru Morishige (21 = Senshu University) won the bronze medal at 34.49 seconds. It was the first podium in three tournaments since the Vancouver tournament in 2010 for the Japanese. He challenged with Yuma Murakami in 8th place and Tatsuya Shinhama in 20th place in the trio for the first time in the Olympics, and although he did not reach the gold medal since the 1998 Nagano Olympics and Hiroyasu Shimizu, he showed his presence at the top of the Japanese team.
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In July 19th, Morishige’s mother Shun’e (57 years old) died of cancer. She faced her first Olympics with her last words, “Skate, do your best …” that she left four days earlier.
Shun’e picked up and dropped off at the link, which Morishige is about 20 kilometers away from elementary school, and supported him by driving a longer distance during the tournament. It takes one and a half hours to Kushiro and three and a half hours to Obihiro where National Tressen is located. She struggled with wildlife that suddenly popped out while driving and on snowy roads in the winter, but when she saw her son immerse himself in his favorite skates, her fatigue was blown away.
In the third year of the Kamifu Ren, who had about 15 students in all schools, he won the national junior high school tournament 500 meters with a new junior high school record and achieved two crowns including 1000 meters. Since her parents’ ranch management is open, only one of her parents can support the tournament. At this time, Shun’e was an answering machine.
I met my son Gaisen at Nakashibetsu Airport. With a banner made by a junior high school companion. I snuggled up to both sides of my love breath, who became a local hero, and took a commemorative photo. This was the last photo taken by three parents and children.
In 2012, Shun’e suffered from breast cancer. Morishige was in the sixth grade of elementary school. The surgery was successful. She continued to accompany her son’s practice transfers and expedition after recovery.
High school entered the Yamagata Chuo High School, which produced the bronze medal Joji Kato at the men’s 500 meters of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Shun’e rushed to the whole national high school for the third consecutive year, even if he lived apart.
January 19th, when I returned from the general support of my third year of high school. Shun’e gets sick. Her father, Makoto (68), said, “The doctor said,’It’s not long anymore.’ She had metastasized to her bones. It was big that she had metastasized to her liver.”
Morishige, who said, “I wasn’t told anything about my mother’s illness when I was in high school, and I heard it after it became seriously ill,” entered Senshu University in April of the same year. He was so busy studying and practicing skating that he couldn’t get back to his hometown. Even so, once he returned home with a gap in the schedule, he said, “I wonder if I can go back next summer vacation.” His mother said, “Don’t go home anymore. Do your best to skate.”
In June, my physical condition deteriorated terribly. Still, she squeezed her energy, saying, “I want to live until Kou’s birthday.”
July 17th. Morishige, 19th birthday. He was so ill that he couldn’t speak, Makoto heard. “Do you call me because it’s your birthday?” Nodding Shun’e. She rang her cell phone and responded after a while. “Look, it’s sailing,” gently touches her cell phone to her wife’s ear. Shun’e squeezed her voice into her mouth.
“Skate, do your best …”
It was painful and I couldn’t speak clearly anymore, but Morishige definitely received it. The words that killed her mother. A tearful voice leaked from the telephone to the hospital room.
“I couldn’t speak much from two days ago. I could say it well,” says Makoto. That was really the last word. Four days later, on the 21st, Shun’e left. Leaving a deep love for her son.[Kazunori Misu]
◆ Wataru Morishige Born in Betsukai-cho, Hokkaido on July 17, 2000 (Heisei 12). The youngest of eight siblings, he is from the same Betsukai skating boy group Shiratori as his senior in his hometown, Tatsuya Shinhama. He won the men’s 500 meters in junior high school nationwide with a new record in junior high school when he was in the third year of the Kamifu guys, and he won two crowns including 1000 meters. At Yamagata Chuo High School, he won two crowns at 500 meters and 1000 meters in the national high school selection in 2018. He went on to college in 19 years. He participated in the World Cup for the first time this season and won the World Cup Salt Lake City Tournament in December last year for the first time at 500 meters. He reached the Beijing Olympics in 2nd place in the World Cup ranking. His hobbies are manga and ball games. He is 175 cm and 72 kg.