Japanese wrestler Risako Kawai, 21, had one of the best reactions to winning a gold medal that we’ve seen so far in Rio. She picked up her 56-year-old coach, Kazuhito Sakae, and slammed him on the ground–twice. That’s how you thank your coach.
Sakae seemed to take it well, laughing while being slammed. He got up and the two hugged, then Kawai put Sakae on her shoulders and paraded him around the arena while he held the Japanese flag.
“Before the final, the coach said he wanted me to lift him on his shoulders,” she told Japanese media, according to the Daily Mail. “The three wrestlers the previous day all won gold so they got to do that, and I said I wanted to be first to slam him and he let me do it.”
This was Kawai’s first Olympic Games. Sakae is a retired wrestler. He won several medals at the Asian and national levels in the ’80s.
It was Japan’s fourth gold medal in women’s wrestling in this Olympic Games. Japan has dominated the wrestling sphere, winning seven total medals, the most of any country. We didn't see how they won the other six, but it's safe to say this was the best celebration—up there with Usain Bolt using LeBron James' signature Silencer move.
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