STREETS Kaito

Personal Information

Residence Tokyo, JPN

Occupation Athlete, Office Worker

Languages English, Japanese

Higher education Business Management - Pennsylvania State University: State College, PA, USA

License number 06061994003

Club

Upcoming Events

Sport Specific Information

When and where did you begin this sport? He began fencing at age eight in Redwood City, CA, United States of America.

Why this sport? He tried karate, baseball, and basketball when he was younger but his brother was better than him at them all. His family then looked for something unique for him to do and fencing was recommended to them. "I loved the lightsabers in 'Star Wars'. Fencing generally starts with foil, because it is suitable to learn basic techniques, but the coach suggested sabre as soon as he saw my movement."

Club / Team CoreStaff: Tokyo, JPN

Name of coach Jerome Guth [national], FRA

Handedness Right

General Interest

Nicknames Kai (Facebook profile, 26 Apr 2021)

Hobbies Golf, cooking. (championship.fencing-jpn.jp, 15 Nov 2022)

Memorable sporting achievement Competing at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (goconnect.jp, 18 Mar 2022)

Sporting philosophy / motto "There is no right equation for success, so write your own story and make history." (Facebook profile, 01 Jun 2016)

Ambitions To compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (goconnect.jp, 18 Mar 2022)

Other information FROM USA TO JAPAN
He was born in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, to an English-American father and a Japanese mother. He moved to the United States of America at age seven because of his father's job. While studying at Pennsylvania State University in the United States of America, he won the sabre event at the 2014 NCAA Championships and represented the US national team until 2015 but, following a conversation with his mother, he decided to compete for Japan with the aim of participating at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. "I watched Japanese fencer Yuki Ota win silver in individual foil at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing on television when I visited my grandmother's house in Kagoshima during the summer holidays. Since then I have dreamed of becoming an Olympic medallist. When I earned All-America honours following my victory in the individual sabre at the 2014 NCAA National Championships, my mother said, 'I want you to be proud of your Japanese blood and participate for Japan in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo'. At that moment, I made a decision to represent Japan." (nishinippon.co.jp, 24 Feb 2021; edox.jp, 01 Feb 2021; kkb.co.jp, 05 Jan 2021; Facebook page, 05 Apr 2018; pref.kagoshima.jp, 25 Jan 2018; mercurynews.com, 08 Apr 2014)