Japanese Buddhist priest sets sights on canoe gold at 2016 Rio Olympics

The 27-year-old Yazawa will represent Japan in canoe slalom at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics where he hopes to use his mental toughness and skill to bring home a medal.

Yazawa wakes up before dawn every day not to train but to pray as a novice priest at the ancient Zenkoji Daikanjin Temple in Nagano prefecture. With a shaved head and wearing a long black robe, he is still learning his chants and getting used to long hours of sitting on the floor.

But once the clock strikes 3 pm and his duties are over, he changes into a polo shirt and shorts and drives his white van to the nearby Saigawa River to practise for the big stage of Rio.

Though a lifelong canoeist, Yazawa's second calling as priest came shortly after he competed in the London Olympics in 2012.

He placed ninth in the men's K-1 kayak slalom, a record for a Japanese canoeist, but he struggled with the pressures of finding sponsors. That's was when he felt the need to find a stable job, and was inspired by his mentor and a fellow priest who also serves as the Nagano canoe association chairman, Kenei Koyama. In 2013, Yazawa decided to retreat from foreign competition and entered into priesthood.

"I never had the intention of balancing the two" Yazawa said. "When I started as a Buddhist priest, I had decided that my main job would be as a priest and that my life as a canoeist would be done in my spare time."

But then Yazawa won the Japanese canoe slalom national tournament in 2015, making him one of the top Japanese contenders to compete in Rio. Now, Yazawa practises for about an hour and a half, six days a week, followed by either a runs or a gym session.

His practise time on an average day is less than half of what he did for the London Olympics, but that has not deterred Yazawa from reaching for gold.

"I hope to give my best performance that I can on the grand stage of the Olympics, and come back to Japan with a good feeling" Yazawa said.

His elders, meanwhile, are giving him all the support they can while not putting too much pressure on him.

"If you can win, nothing would surpass that," Kansho Kayaki, the deputy chief priest at the temple, told Yazawa. "Regardless of the results, we hope you will stay healthy, avoid injuries, and complete the games."

Yazawa will be competing at his third Olympics in Rio, following Beijing and London. Win or lose, he is taking a philosophical approach.

"This time, I think I'm more at ease," Yazawa said. "I think I'll be able to enjoy the Games."

Kazinform refers to The Guardian.com