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Seiko Hashimoto breaks Japan's Olympic glass ceiling
Former Cabinet minister becomes first woman to head nation's Olympic committee
Seiko Hashimoto speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on June 26. Her political background is not unusual in Japan's sports world. © Kyodo
MASAKO HARA
TOKYO -- Seiko Hashimoto, a seven-time Olympian and former Cabinet minister, was last week elected as the first woman president of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC).
Nicknamed the "Child of the Olympic Games," Hashimoto was born in 1964 just 5 days before the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics. Her name is derived from seika , the Japanese word for the sacred Olympic flame. A rare dual-sport athlete, she competed in four consecutive Winter Olympics in speed skating from 1984 to 1994 (winning a bronze medal in 1992) and three straight Summer Olympics in track cycling from 1988 to 1996.
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