28. April 2023  
Hiroshima, JPN  
Artistic Gymnastics

"G7 Gymnastics Hiroshima"

* HIROSHIMA (Kyodo) --: Two-time Olympic men's gymnastics all-around champion Kohei UCHIMURA and Japanese World Champion Mai MURAKAMI and other current and former gymnasts from the Group of Seven nations visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum on Friday to lay flowers at the cenotaph for atomic-bomb victims ahead of the G-7 summit in the city.
The "G-7 Gymnastics Hiroshima" participants hope to encourage dialogue for peace among leaders at the May 19-21 summit, which is likely to focus on Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The event was conceived by International Gymnastics Federation President Morinari WATANABE, who is the child of an atomic bomb survivor.
"Russia's invasion of Ukraine is impacting the sports world and I hope peace will come as soon as possible," he said.

Kohei Uchimura, who grew up in Isahaya, Nagasaki Prefecture, recalls his grandmother telling him about the "flash of light" from the American atomic bomb that hit the city of Nagasaki in the final days of World War II. "I hope this will be an opportunity for people to also turn their attention to Nagasaki, which was also hit by an atomic bomb," said Uchimura, who won all-around gold at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics.
Canadian rhythmic gymnast Katherine UCHIDA, whose great-grandfather lost a sibling as a result of the Hiroshima atomic bomb, was also part of the group, along with Russian-born American 2008 women's all-around Olympic champion Nastia LIUKIN.
* Source: Japanese media

+++
FIG President Morinari Watanabe (2nd from left) and Aljaz PEGAN (left) met with the Chair of this year's G7 Summit in Hiroshima Kishida FUMIO (middle) together with gymnasts from all of the G7 countries to bring a message of peace:

(C) f i g
Japanese Olympians Mai Murakami and Kohei Uchimura represented the host nation and were joined by the following gymnasts from the G7 countries:
Emma Spence (CAN), Lorette Charpy (FRA), Giarnni Regini-Moran (GBR), Marcel Nguyen (GER), Alexandra Agiurgiuculese (ITA) and Nastia Liukin (USA). Katherine Uchida (CAN) also met with the Prime Minister as a special guest of the FIG. Although a citizen of Canada, Uchida has family connections with the city of Hiroshima but has never visited the city.

The gymnasts presented Kishida Fumio with a certificate that they had all signed, which bore a simple message:
"The Gymnastics family wishes for peace in the world as soon as possible".
* Source: f i g press

.