Anime Nick-named Olympians

According to the Olympics.com web site women’s judo gold medalist Ryoko Tamura of Japan is nicknamed “Yawara-chan,” a reference to the manga/anime series of the same name. Tamura, who won silver medals in the ’92 Barcelona Olympics, and ’96 Atlanta Olympics attributes the name to her styling of a ribbon in her hair. “Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl” told the story of Yawara Inokuma, a talented judo student taught by her grandfather. The anime series ran from 1989 to 1992, for a total of 124 episode, concluding with Yawara representing Japan at the Barcelona Olympics. The manga series the television animation was based on was printed from 1987 to 1993, for a 29 full-volume run.

Source: Anime News Service