KAWAI Mike

Date of Birth: 18 Jun 1998

Age: 25

Gender: Male

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
Additional Information
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Equestrian	Jumping Team JPN Japan	6
	Jumping Individual

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Tonglu Equestrian Centre	Jumping Individual Qualifier Round 1	Finished
	Tonglu Equestrian Centre	Jumping Team Round 1	Finished
	Tonglu Equestrian Centre	Jumping Individual Qualifier Round 2	Finished
	Tonglu Equestrian Centre	Jumping Team Final Round 2	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Rank	Event	Year	Location
World Equestrian Games
17	Team	2022	Herning, DEN
43	Individual	2022	Herning, DEN
World Cup Western European League
35	Individual	2022/2023	Verona, ITA
World Cup Arab League - Middle East
1	Individual	2019/2020	Riyadh, KSA
2	Individual	2022/2023	Riyadh, KSA
2	Individual	2022/2023	Riyadh, KSA
9	Individual	2019/2020	Riyadh, KSA
11	Individual	2021/2022	Riyadh, KSA
15	Individual	2021/2022	Riyadh, KSA
24	Individual	2018/2019	Dubai, UAE
EL	Individual	2018/2019	Sharjah, UAE
World Cup Northern Central European League
8	Individual	2022/2023	Prague, CZE

Previous names:

Occupation:

Languages spoken:

English, Japanese

Sugitani Riding Club [Japan]

Jan Tops [personal], NED

Sporting relatives:

His father Yoshio Kawai has also competed in jumping at international level. (grandprix, 12 Nov 2020; fei, 10 Jan 2010; globalchampionstour, 01 Jan 2018)

2018 for Japan, in Opglabbeek, Belgium (arabnews, 22 Dec 2019)

In February 2021 he suffered an injury to his left leg after falling from a horse. (Instagram profile, 15 Feb 2021)

He took up the sport seriously at age 15. (arabnews, 22 Dec 2019)

He was encouraged to focus on the sport by his father, who was also a rider. "I rode often when I was young but I quit because I didn't really like it. As I gradually became interested in the sport again, I resumed training every day." (arabnews, 22 Dec 2019; grandprix, 12 Nov 2020)

To win a medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (fei, 11 Aug 2022; horseandhound, 13 Aug 2021)

Competing at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (horseandhound, 13 Aug 2021)

Italian equestrian jumper Alberto Zorzi. (grandprix, 12 Nov 2020)

His father Yoshio. (grandprix, 12 Nov 2020; Instagram profile, 09 Jul 2021)

He was named Best U25 Rider of the 2022 Global Champions League. (jumpernews, 17 Nov 2022)

Additional Information

General
FUTURE PLANS
In 2020 he spoke about beginning to focus on a career away from the sport after competing at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. "I think I'll go back to Japan to start working for my father's business. You have to earn money at some point in order to keep riding. I'm sure I will continue my sporting career all my life, but not so diligently. I will need to enter the workforce. From time to time, I will be able to return to Europe to compete." (grandprix, 12 Nov 2020; Georgette Mag YouTube channel, 03 Jul 2021)

MOVE TO EUROPE
Raised in Osaka, Japan, he moved to the Netherlands in 2016 to train at Stal Tops in Valkenswaard. "When I was age 17, my father said that I would have to win gold at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. I told myself that it would be impossible after a three-year sporting career. The following year, he said that I should make preparations for the 2020 Games at the best stable in the world. As he had taken part in a CSI2* in the Longines Global Champions Tour, he found [coach] Jan Tops. I decided to move to Europe after dropping out of high school. At first everyone laughed at me, but I kept trying to improve." (grandprix, 12 Nov 2020; arabnews, 22 Dec 2019; Facebook profile, 14 Dec 2019; globalchampionsleague, 19 Jan 2019)

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event