吉田 沙保里　女史　Ms. Saori Yoshida
1982 -
三重県津市　生誕
Born in Tu-city, Mie-ken

「そうなんです、自由なんですよ、私。」
"Yes, I am free."

吉田沙保里女史は世界大会16連覇、個人戦206連勝の記録持つ、世界初の女子レスリング選手です。
Ms. Saori Yoshida is the world's first female wrestler with a record of 16 consecutive world championship victories and 206 consecutive individual match wins.
********

吉田沙保里女史は3歳から元レスリング選手の父親の指導の下、兄2人と共にレスリングを開始。小学生に入ってからは、休みはお盆とお正月の２、３日ずつだけで、平日も土日も休みは無く道場で練習するか、出稽古に行くか、試合に出るか、とにかくレスリング漬けの毎日。友達と遊べないのが嫌で、レスリングをやめたいと何度も思いつつも、吉田家は父親が言うことは絶対、逆らうことはできません。中学生の時にアトランタオリンピックで田村亮子選手が戦っている姿をテレビで観ていると、父から「いつかきっと、女子レスリングもオリンピック競技になるから頑張れ」、積極的に練習に打ち込む始め国際大会に出場するようになります。父親の選ぶ地元の高校また大学に入学、放課後は部活動の練習、帰宅後は自宅の道場で父親から指導を受けます。
２００２年レスリング世界女子選手権にて優勝、翌年全日本選手権にてライバルの山本聖子選手と延長戦を繰り広げ初めて勝利します。初めてレスリング女子が正式競技として採用されたアテネオリンピックの代表選考試合である全日本選手権でライバルの山本聖子選手に圧勝、２００4年のアテネオリンピックで金メダルを獲得。以後「吉田沙保里のレスリング」で連勝記録を更新し続けます。２０１２年世界選手権において、 男女通じて史上最多となる世界選手権１０連覇および世界大会１３大会連続優勝を達成、男子レスリング王者カレリン選手の 記録を更新します。２０１４年父の逝去の翌年、世界大会決勝戦でスウェーデンのソフィア・マットソンと苦戦の末に勝利。翌年のリオデジャネイロオリンピック決勝戦にて、ソフィア・マットソンを倒したアメリカのヘレン・マルーリスに逆転負け。世界大会の連覇記録は１６連覇、個人戦は２０６連勝でストップします。現役を引退後はレスリング女子日本代表コーチに就任、後進を育てています。

From the age of three, under the guidance of her father, a former wrestler, she began wrestling along with her two older brothers. Starting from elementary school, she had only two to three days off during summer and New Year holidays, practicing wrestling every day without breaks on weekdays and weekends. While she disliked not being able to play with friends and often thought about quitting wrestling, she couldn't go against her father's word, as his decisions were absolute.
When she was in junior high school, she watched Ryouko Tamura, a wrestler, compete at the Atlanta Olympics on TV. Her father said to her, "One day, women's wrestling will definitely become an Olympic sport, so do your best." This motivated her to actively participate in international competitions. She entered the local high school and university selected by her father, and after school, she practiced with the club activities and received guidance from her father at the home dojo.　
In 2002, she won the Wrestling World Championships for women, and the following year, at the All-Japan Championship, she had an intense overtime match against her rival, Seiko Yamamoto, and achieved her first victory. In the representative selection competition for the Athens Olympics, where women's wrestling was adopted as an official sport for the first time, she overwhelmingly defeated her rival, Seiko Yamamoto, and won the gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Afterward, she continued to update her consecutive winning streak records in "Saori Yoshida's wrestling."
In September 2012, at the World Championships, she accomplished the most consecutive world championship victories in both men's and women's wrestling, achieving 10 consecutive world championship wins and 13 consecutive victories in major competitions, surpassing the record held by the men's wrestling champion, Karelin. In 2014, the year after her father's passing, she struggled to victory in the final match of the world championship against Sweden's Sofia Mattsson. However, in the final match at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics the following year, she suffered a reversal loss to the United States' Helen Maroulis, who defeated Sofia Mattsson. Her consecutive world championship victory record stopped at 16, and her individual match win streak ended at 206.　
After retiring from active competition, she became a coach for the Japanese women's wrestling national team, mentoring and nurturing the next generation of wrestlers.

-日本レスリング協会　Japan Wrestling federation

Share Your Love and Happy Women's Story！

あなたを元気にする女性の逸話をお寄せください！
Share your story of a woman that inspires you!