Bangkok, Thailand, March 17, 2023: Mikako Kotani, Chair of the OCA Athletes’ Committee (AC), has urged athletes across the region to make full use of their representative body within the National Olympic Committee.
“When I was an athlete 25 years ago, we didn’t have Athletes' Committees. Today’s athletes have such a body and they should make use of this body as it can make things so much easier,” said the Japanese Olympian.
Kotani was speaking on the eve of the two-day OCA/OS Athletes Forum in Bangkok which starts on Saturday, March 18. A total of 43 NOCs will be represented by their Athletes’ Committees, totaling 88 participants - 46 men and 42 women.
“This forum is an avenue for the Athletes’ Committees to learn, educate themselves and then go back home and pass on this knowledge to their athletes. We will be talking about so many key issues which will help athletes. In my time, we didn’t have such a facility; we were on our own,” she said.
Going back 25 years when Kotani was competing as a synchronised swimmer, there was no mechanism to advise athletes on matters like how to handle sexual harassment and abuse in sport, or the pitfalls of doping.
As a member of Japan's synchronised swimming team at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, Kotani won two bronze medals in solo and duet. She also participated at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and was Sports Director of Tokyo 2020.
“We have Athletes’ Committees across Asia. Some are very active, some not so. I hope this forum will serve as a wake-up call for all, and that everyone will take the knowledge they gain here in Bangkok back home and put it to practical use,” Kotani said.
Four main topics will be discussed during the two days - Safeguarding: protecting athletes from harassment and abuse in sport; Prevention of the Manipulation of Competition; Athletes Career Development for Sport and Beyond; and Fight against Doping.
“It will be an immensely educative forum and I hope the Athletes’ Committee representatives will acquire this knowledge and disseminate it back home,” she added.
As for Kotani, her competitive days are still not over. At 56, she will be taking part in the World Aquatics Masters Championships in Japan in August.