St. Moritz, Switzerland, January 16, 2020: Japanese speed skater Motonaga Arito rounded off a spectacular five days by claiming his third medal of the Lausanne 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games in the men’s mass start on Thursday.
Arito’s points tally of 30 earned him the gold medal ahead of Diego Amaya Martinez (COL) and Russia’s Pavel Taran.
“My goal in these Games was to win multiple gold medals so I am very happy I've achieved it,” said Arito, who had won the men’s 1500m gold medal on Monday as well as a silver medal in the mixed NOC team sprint on Wednesday.
“I am an Olympic fan now and I will definitely be watching the Tokyo Olympics on TV later this year.”
Arito, 17, hails from the winter sports hotbed of Hokkaido – the northern-most of Japan’s four main islands – and began speed skating at the age of six.
His hard work has paid off at the Winter YOG with two individual gold medals and one team silver and he will be knocking on the door for selection for Japan’s team at the next Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022.
During his time in Switzerland, “Moto” has acquired a taste for cheese fondue – and said he would be celebrating his successful campaign with a visit to the fondue station in the Athletes’ Village.
The mass start races completed the speed skating events in St. Moritz. It is now the turn of the short track events at Lausanne 2020, which start on Saturday at the Lausanne Skating Arena.
