PROFILE

Tomomi Okazaki was born in Kiyosato-cho, Hokkaido in 1971. She started skating in earnest in the third grade of elementary school, competed in her first Olympics at the Lillehammer Olympics in 1994. She won her first medal (bronze) in the Nagano Olympics in 1998, set a Japanese record in the Salt Lake Olympics in 2002, and led the Japanese team at the Turin Olympics in 2006. She was the standard-bearer of the team at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010. She holds the record for being the the oldest Japanese woman to compete in five Olympics. In 2008, she set a new world record in the Masters International Sprint Games and won a gold medal. Currently, Ms. Okazaki conducts skating classes and sporting events throughout Japan and gives lectures. She is a visiting professor at Seitoku University, and serves as a director of the Japan Student Athletic Union, Japan Dance Sports, and the Japan Curling Association.