Former Olympic Swimmer Recalls Her Barcelona Bronze Medal
Fumiko Okuno, a former Japanese artistic swimmer, has shared memories of her time at the Barcelona Olympics.
Before the Games, Okuno arrived in Barcelona while suffering from worsening back pain. She decided she had no choice but to compete anyway.
Despite the pain, Okuno went on to win a bronze medal at the Olympics, a result that made her feel deeply relieved.
However, on the very night of her medal win, she received unexpected news about the next day's duet event.
The details of this surprising message were not fully explained, but it clearly affected her plans for the following competition.
This story is part of a TV series called 'Teach Me! Artistic Swimming,' which looks back at Okuno's sporting career.
The series is exploring her personal journey through several episodes, showing both the challenges and successes of her time as an Olympian.
Vocabulary11 words
- artistic swimmer
- a person who does swimming with dance and music
- back pain
- hurting feeling in the back
- bronze medal
- prize given for third place
- relieved
- feeling less worried after stress
- duet
- an event where two swimmers perform together
- series
- many TV shows about the same topic
- Olympian
- a person who competes in the Olympics
- worsening
- becoming more bad
- unexpected
- not planned or known before
- competition
- an event where people try to win
- journey
- a long process of experiences
Quiz
Answer key
1. Back pain 2. A bronze medal 3. The night she won her medal
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Fumiko Okuno, a former Japanese artistic _____, has shared memories of her time at the Barcelona Olympics.
Before the Games, Okuno arrived in Barcelona while suffering from worsening back _____.
She decided she had no _____ but to compete anyway.
Despite the pain, Okuno went on to win a _____ medal at the Olympics.
This result made her feel deeply _____.
However, on the very night of her medal win, she received _____ news about the next day's duet event.
The details of this surprising _____ were not fully explained.
It clearly affected her _____ for the following competition.
This story is part of a TV series called 'Teach Me! Artistic _____.'
The series is exploring her personal _____ through several episodes.
Discussion questions
- Do you think athletes should compete even when they are injured? Why or why not?
- How do you think Okuno felt hearing surprising news right after winning her medal?
- Why might TV shows about athletes' personal stories be popular?
- Have you ever had to push through pain or difficulty to reach a goal?