Her father’s influence made her gravitate towards pro wrestling.
Kyoko Hamaguchi is freestyle wrestler from Japan. She has captured five World Wrestling Championships and obtained two Olympic Bronze medals in the 150-pound weight class.
Kyoko’s father is Animal Hamaguchi, who spent 26 years of his life as a pro wrestler. Animal was trained by Karl Gotch and made his way through All Japan and New Japan Pro-Wrestling. Animal also played a role in training the likes of Tetsuya Naito and Shingo Takagi.
His daughter published a column on Tokyo Sports and expressed her interest in becoming a pro wrestler.
I have been watching professional wrestling since I was a baby because of my father’s influence. I even had my diapers changed in the seats at Korakuen Hall. As a child, I was the quiet type in terms of personality, but wrestling was different. I thought I would eventually become a professional wrestler.
Looking back, even though I decided to pursue a career in (amateur) wrestling, my heart was that of a professional wrestler. My father taught me that I should be an athlete who looked good just by standing on the mat. I think I was particular about dyeing my hair gold or red, and about being “attractive” in my words, actions and poses.
I respect professional wrestlers. No matter how much damage they receive, they get back up. It’s amazing. I like watching professional wrestling because it gives me energy. Even now, I would like to be a pro-wrestler if I could. Actually, I would like to do an outside brawl! Swinging my opponent around. For my costume, I’d probably wear ripped jeans and a T-shirt. I would also like to wear dark makeup. But if I’m allowed to enter the ring, I’ll need to train more.
Even now, I never miss a training session. I want to be in good shape so I can move whenever I want. I plan to watch more wrestling in 2025 and support the wrestlers. Let’s all get a lot of energy from professional wrestling! Maybe I’ll be right there beside you…
Kyoko Hamaguchi’s Olympic profile can be checked out here.
