Murase Kokomo on sharing Olympic journey with younger sister Yura: 'I want to be with her, always'
The Beijing 2022 snowboard Big Air bronze medallist has set off on another four-year Olympic journey - this time with her baby 15-year-old sister by her side.
Snowboard
Murase Kokomo has found new strength for the upcoming World Cup season in her little sister and fellow snowboarder, Yura.
“When Yura is not around, it’s not as fun”, Murase said on Monday (21 November) at a press conference with her Ski Association of Japan teammates that included 15-year-old Yura.
“I’ve ridden with her more than any other person and I want to keep working with her towards the competitions.
“To compete at a World Cup with my sister for the first time meant a lot to me. I hope we can keep going together, hand in hand. I want to be with her, always.
“The most impressive thing about Yura is that she almost rides like the boys, which is really cool.
“There’s only a handful of girls who can do that and it’s something I want to emulate.”
Kokomo, who won bronze in the snowboard Big Air in Beijing in February, started the 2022-23 season last month with a fifth-place finish in Chur, Switzerland.
There, Yura made her World Cup debut and raised eyebrows, placing fourth to outdo her sister.
The two regularly train together, as they were doing until a day earlier in the snowboard hotbeds of Toyama Prefecture.
“I’m in awe,” said Yura praising her sister.
"The way Kokomo can keep her composure on the big stage like the Games. It doesn’t matter who is older or younger; there is mutual respect for competitors.
“We help each other out,” the 15-year-old added.
Kokomo, who turned 18 two weeks ago, is not stressed after one event of trailing her baby sister.
In fact, she is happier to have learned areas of her riding she needs work on.
“I was only fifth but it made me realise what I’m lacking at the moment,” Kokomo said.
“Fifth place isn’t great but to be able to discover what I need to do in the very first competition of the season is good news to me.
“I couldn’t make it on the podium but I need to stop thinking about it. Of course, I want to reach the podium but overthinking doesn’t help.
“My goals for the season are to win medals at the X Games, and the Dew Tour and that’s what I need to build up to.”
Murase Kokomo: Dealing with pressure
After becoming Japan’s youngest-ever female Winter Games medallist at 17 years and 30 months, Kokomo quickly found out what words like ‘expectation’ and ‘pressure’ really mean.
As an athlete from an Olympic-mad country, the weight admittedly took a toll on her. Even for someone who is relatively composed under bright lights, it was a lot.
“The Olympics was a first for me so I was expecting to be nervous like I never was before. But after winning a medal there, I started putting pressure on myself in a strange way I couldn’t make out.
“I have to be able to control myself mentally. It’s something I have to learn how to do if I want to be competitive at any event in any place.”
Kokomo tries to take her mind off things by shooting pool or bowling with her friends, and going to Disneyland with fellow Olympic medallist and skateboarder Nishiya Momiji.
The teenager does not mind the responsibility that comes with someone succeeding at the Games. She is proud that having won an Olympic medal helped put snowboard slopestyle and Big Air on the public grid.
Embarking on the road to Milano-Cortina 2026, Kokomo knows what she has to do to get there - hopefully with Yura by her side - and is taking it one competition at a time.
“I need to get stronger physically, strong enough to be competitive at any event, wherever it’s held. I want to be able to ride cool again this season.”