(ATR) Tokyo 2020 loses a key member of its team just 10 months before the start of the delayed Summer Games.
Sports director Koji Murofushi is moving on to become commissioner of the Japan Sports Agency, an organization founded in 2015 to promote sport throughout the country. He will still be involved in planning for the Olympics in his new role.
The 45-year-old Murofushi, the Olympic gold medalist in the hammer throw at Athens 2004, will succeed retired swimmer Daichi Suzuki, who has led the JSA since it was formed. Suzuki will leave at the end of the month when his contract ends.
Murofushi has been with Tokyo 2020 since 2014. As sports director, he served as a liaison between athletes, international sports federations and the organizing committee. He also helped create the event schedules for both the Olympics and Paralympics.
He says he is ready to try something new.
"I want to work soundly with all my strength, both physically and mentally," he said at his press conference.
"There are many kinds of spots so I want to work while learning the various attractions of sports. I want to make the sports world that is impressed."
Tokyo 2020 president Yoshiro Mori said in a statement that he is "delighted" with Murofushi’s appointment.
"Although of course he will be missed with next year's Games just around the corner, everyone at Tokyo 2020 offers our most heartfelt good wishes to Mr. Murofushi as he launches on an exciting new challenge.
"I know that Mr. Murofushi will prove a dependable partner at the helm of Japanese sports administration as we work together toward the success of the Tokyo 2020 Games," Mori said.
Written by Gerard Farekwith additional reporting from Hironori Hashimoto in Japan
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