This International Women’s Day we honour women in leadership roles around the world. Seiko Hashimoto, a seven-time Olympian and former Minister of the Olympics, was recently appointed President to lead the Organising Committee of the Tokyo 2020 Games. Born five days before the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games opening ceremony, Seiko, was named after the Olympic flame by her father. Seiko Hashimoto has been the President of the Triathlon National Diet Members Association for 12 years.

Seiko Hashimoto has participated in Winter Olympics four times as a speed skater winning a bronze medal and competed at Summer Olympics three times as a cyclist.

At a challenging time of the COVID-19 pandemic throughout the world and little time left before the opening of the Games, Seiko Hashimoto bluntly devotes her career in order to deliver successful Olympic and Paralympic Games. Her charismatic personality and unique career drew high expectation as she can truly share the feeling and sensibility of athletes and has deep insights as politician who has also served as minister of gender equality. She is committed to driving the preparation for the Games and leveraging operations by setting an earnest gender equality mind in her organisation. With less than 2 weeks since she assumed her office, she has increased the ratio of women in the Executive Board of Tokyo 2020 Games from 20% to approximately 42% by inviting 12 women experts from various fields including business, academia and sports.

Serving also as President of the Triathlon National Diet Members Association for 12 years, she greets the World Triathlon family on International Women’s Day.
“I see it very encouraging that Mme. Marisol Casado, President of World Triathlon, is seriously addressing gender equality issues as only one woman president amongst of all the Summer Olympic International Federations. I understand World Triathlon set equal rules, same race distances, and same amount of prize money for both women and men since its inception as an international federation. In this manner, with the development as a sport, Triathlon has greatly demonstrated and contributed to the gender equality in the sport scene across the world. I look forward to witnessing Triathlon facilitate even further promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women. The Tokyo 2020 Games Organizing Committee is doing our utmost in building every possible COVID-19 preventive measures by providing a solid system. We would like to welcome you all to our Games in a thoroughly prepared and well organised operation.
I look forward to meeting you in Tokyo this summer!”

Article generated by the World Triathlon Women’s Committee
The Women’s Committee is responsible for advising the Executive Board, Committees, Members and Associate members on the development and implementation of their policies and for promoting equal opportunity for women to participate in all aspects of the sport of Triathlon, Paratriathlon and Multisport.

Picture provided by Tokyo 2020