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The Tokyo 2016 Bid Committee and the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya (NIFS) announced a programme of collaboration to enhance Japan’s sports education system and deliver the incredible legacy of a Tokyo Games. This will see the Bid Committee work with the Institute – renowned for developing top-class athletes and coaches – on initiatives for the ongoing benefit of the Olympic Movement.

The agreements key elements are in the areas of research and education. Formal studies on Olympic and Paralympic bidding processes will be conducted utilising the practical experience of Tokyo 2016 and the academic strengths of NIFS. Students at the Institute will also have opportunities to undertake internships with the Tokyo 2016 Bid Committee.

Founded in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture in 1981, the NIFS has produced champions such as Ai Shibata, who took freestyle swimming gold at Athens 2004 and in the process became the first female Japanese swimmer to do so. Shibata, who is also a Tokyo 2016 Athlete Ambassador, has since returned to the NIFS and is currently a second-year student in its Graduate School of Physical Education.

Ai Shibata said:

“I have great confidence both the Institute and the Bid, which will help us to set the stage for heroes before, during and after Tokyo 2016. I know all Japanese will join me in welcoming the NIFS’s support and continuing their incredible support for the Bid. Bringing the Olympic Games to Tokyo in 2016 would greatly advance Japanese sport, as well as inspire our country’s future leaders.”

Dr Ichiro Kono, Chair and CEO of Tokyo 2016, said:

“The Tokyo 2016 Bid Committee is delighted by this partnership with a leading institute of higher education and sport studies. We share a belief that sport can advance society, and look forward to helping the development of top-class athletes and sport-industry leaders for the benefit of Japan and the entire Olympic Movement.

“We are committed to uniting people of all ages with sport and healthy living, such as by having NIFS students join Tokyo 2016 for internships in our Bid Committee offices. This will help us to ensure the incredible legacy of the most compact and sustainable Olympic and Paralympic Games in history.”

The agreement marks Tokyo’s third partnership with an academic institution, following collaborations with Senshu University and Ryutsu Keizai University.