荒木珠里メルマガvol62.（2023年12月26日）「2023を振り返って」 から引用 

皆さんこんにちは。荒木珠里です。今年1年間のすべてのレースを無事に終えて、スポンサーの方々にメダルを持って感謝の気持ちと来年に向けての抱負を伝えに行くことができました。

今回の旅は、広島から始まり、熊本、山梨、東京を回りました。本当はもっともっと沢山の全国の皆さんの所へ挨拶に行きたいのですがどうしても時間が足りず申し訳ありませんでした。直接顔をあわせることができなかった後援会の皆さんにも、このメルマガを通してお礼をお伝えしたいと思います。まず広島では、先月から新しくスポンサー契約させていただいたマツダ自動車の本社を訪問させて頂き金メダルの報告をしました。マツダの皆さんにはとても暖かく迎え入れて頂き、僕と同じようにマツダの実業団に所属しているバレーボール、ラグビー、トライアスロンのアスリートの方々とも初対面できて感激しました。そのあとミュージアムも案内して頂きました。マツダ自動車は1931年にクルマ作りをスタートし第二次世界大戦時代、1945年には広島に投下された原子爆弾によりたくさんの社員を失ってしまいました。しかしそれでも諦めず、誰も進まなかった道をあえて選び、不撓不屈の精神でロータリーエンジンを代表とする多くの発明で現在に至ることを初めて知ることができました。ミュージアムに掲げられていた「飽くなき挑戦」という言葉は、僕がお父さんから受け継いだ一家の座右の銘「keep paddling.®︎ = 嵐に背を向けずに漕ぎ続ける。」と同じ意味でした。そんなマツダの皆さんに応援して頂き本当に光栄です。僕もこれからもどんな困難や失敗にもめげる事なく、絶対に諦めずに目標に向かって頑張っていきます。暖かく迎えてくださった、藤家さん、谷本さん、浜口さん、倉谷さん、松村さん、竹本さん、森口さん、植月さん、そしてアスリートのみなさん本当にありがとうございました。

Afterwards, we were given a tour of the museum. Mazda Motors started making cars in 1931, and lost many employees in 1945 when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima during World War II. However, they did not give up, chose a path no one had taken before, and with their unyielding spirit of never giving in, I was able to learn for the first time that they have led to the present day with many inventions, including the rotary engine. The words ”Continuous Challenge” displayed in the museum have the same meaning as the motto of our family, which I inherited from my father, “keep paddling.®︎” I am truly honored to receive such support from Mazda. I will continue to work hard towards my goal and never give up, no matter how difficult it may be. Thank you very much to Fujiie-san, Tanimoto-san, Hamaguchi-san, Kuratani-san, Matsumura-san, Takemoto-san, Moriguchi-san, Uetsuki-san, and all the athletes for their warm welcome.

今年一年を終え、APPワールドツアーやEUROツアー、そしてISA(国際サーフィン連盟)・ICF（国際カヌー連盟）と、ヨーロッパ４往復と最後はアジアのタイ往復。本当に忙しいシーズンでした。ISAでは長距離と中距離の二種目二冠を二連覇達成することができました。長距離ディスタンスでは後半に差し掛かるところ、風が10メートルオーバーまで上がり、波をどんどん掴んで一気に先頭を走り抜くことができました。結果的に二位の選手に約2分の差をつけることができました。テクニカルレースでは、波が崩れる中、高い技術が求められるブイターンで、僕がこれまで時間をかけて磨き上げた技「両足利き/スイッチスタンス」の技術で先頭を抜き去ることができました。いずれも去年プエルトリコの初優勝と比べて、2位以下を大きく離して二連覇、そして二冠達成することができて良かったです。そして今回はサポーターの皆さんのお陰で家族全員でフランスへ旅することができてより万全なサポート体制のもとで大会に挑めました。現在「Shrimpy 世界二連覇、二冠記念Tシャツ」をアマゾンから販売されていますので、もし宜しければご購入ください。そして「The surf news」に報告記事が掲載されていますのでご覧ください。

After completing this year, I have participated in the APP World Tour, EURO Tour, ISA (International Surfing Federation), ICF (International Canoeing Federation), 4 round trips to Europe, and 4 round trips to Thailand in Asia. It was a really busy season. At ISA, I was able to win two consecutive titles in two events: long distance and technical middle distance. In the long-distance race, the wind picked up more than 10 meters in the second half, and I was able to catch a lot of waves and win with a gap of nearly 2 minutes over second place. In the technical race, I was able to overtake the leaders using my unique technique of “switch stance buoy turn" in a turn that required a high level of skill as the waves were breaking. Compared to Puerto Rico's first victory last year, it was great to be able to achieve a second consecutive victory and a double crown, with a decent gap to the second place. I'd like to thank you to all the supporters that supported us by purchasing "Shrimpy's T-shirt", I was able to travel to France with my family and compete in the tournament with a much better support system. Amazon is currently selling the "Shrimpy World Champion Double Crown T-shirt", so I would be honored if you could purchase it if you would like.

波高がほとんど上がらなかったICFの長距離レースでは、15km、約1時間半先頭争いを繰り返しながら何度も勝負を仕掛けましたが、常時後ろで体力温存していたNoicの最後100Mラストスプリントについていけずに準優勝。頭脳戦もとても良い経験になりました。周りの評価ではほとんどの人たちが僕がまだ平水の長距離では最後までスピードについていけないと言われていましたが、波や風があるレースだけではなく平水でも先頭を狙えるスピードがあることを僕とお父さんはここで証明できたと思います。来年は頭脳戦でも勝利したいと思います。
一方でテクニカルレースはISA/5kmと比べ遥かに短い1kmというルール設定の「短距離テクニカル」でも僕の小さな体格で十分に戦えたので自信になりました。小学生の時からいつもレースでは年上の選手へ挑戦してきた僕ですが、ここ最近、身体の成長とともに体格の差で不利な要素はどんどん無くなっていることを実感します。ただ、決勝でパドルを落とすという大きなミスで8位という結果で終わってしまいとても残念でした。僕とお父さんはISAとICFの「二団体統一」というとても大きな目標を設定しています。来年はISAはデンマーク（9月末）そしてICFはアメリカ・フロリダ（11月末）で開催されます。もちろんそれぞれルールも、水面のコンディションも違います。しかし来年こそは必ず目標達成したいです。そして僕と同じように世界に向けてチャレンジを始めた小学4年生の妹と一緒に夢に向かいます。

In the ICF long-distance race, where the waves barely rose in height, I fought for the lead over and over again for about 1.5 hours over 15km, but I was unable to keep up with Noic, who was always conserving his strength in the back, in the final 100M sprint. Runner-up. The battle of brains was also a very good experience. Most of the people around me said that I still can't keep up with the speed on long distance races on flat water, but I can say that I have the speed to aim for the lead not only in races with waves and wind, but also on flat water. I think my dad and I were able to prove it this year. Next year, I want to win the battle of brains as well. On the other hand, the technical race had a much shorter rule of 1km compared to ISA/5km. Even in the ``ICF short-distance technical'' where explosive power is very important, I was able to compete well with my small physique. Since I was in elementary school, I have always challenged older athletes in races, but recently, as my body has grown, I have noticed that the disadvantages due to differences in physique have become less and less. However, I made a big mistake in the final by dropping my paddle, and ended up finishing in 8th place, which was very disappointing. My father and I have set a very big goal of “Unifying the two organizations, ISA and ICF title”. I definitely want to accomplish this next year. Also, my younger sister, who is in the fourth grade of elementary school and started taking on the world challenge just like me, is also working hard, so I would like to continue working hard together.

Next year, I have another big goal. At the end of July, I will finally take on the challenge of the about 50km cross-strait race in Hawaii called Molokai 2 Oahu (M2O). The first time I competed was when I was 13 years old, I raced on a solo, sup foil with my dad and became the youngest person ever to complete. This will be my first sup Molokai challenge in four years. The Molokai Challenge attracts a large number of “watermen” My father admired people called watermen from a young age, and in order to become closer to them, he traveled to Hawaii for 20 years and tried 36 times channel crossing. Since I was a child, I have watched and cheered for him from the escort boat. And I started thinking that I wanted to not only be a fast racer, but also a “waterman" who could live and blend in with any ocean. M2O is said to be the toughest and most prestigious race in the world. I'm so excited to finally be able to take on this race. There's still a lot I don't know about deep Molokai channel, so I'm challenging it with my dad's advice from the escort boat. One month before Molokai, my family will host the “Okinawa 2 Yoron (O2Y) island crossing Race'' from Okinawa to Yoron Island, and the selection meeting will be held in front of my house next month. The actual cross-strait race will take place at the end of June. A growing number of overseas players have expressed their desire to participate. From now on, more and more foreign athletes will gather in Okinawa, and someday it will become a grand event where they travel&paddle from island to island. I'm really looking forward to seeing athletes from all over the world gather in the Okinawa islands that I've paddle crossed for a long time. I also welcome overseas athletes, and I hope that the children who watch this race will open their eyes to the world. I would be very happy if they could move forward towards their big dreams.

「荒木珠里後援会」は本人が毎月綴るメルマガを年間購読していただけるサポーターを募集しています。

2023年度も引き続きメルマガをお楽しみいただきたい方、また改めて会員登録を希望される方は会員登録をお願いします。