Sailor Kojiro Shiraishi is in high spirits as he is set to realize his 30-year dream.
Shiraishi will compete in the Vend¨¦e Globe, the around-the-world solo yacht race, in November. The 48-year-old will be the first Asian to participate in the once-every-four-years most famous sailing race in the world, which starts and finishes at Les Sables d¡¯Olonne, France.
¡°The Japanese aren¡¯t familiar with the sport, but think about it, this is the only sport that deals with the whole earth,¡± Shiraishi said in an ecstatic tone at a Tokyo news conference on Thursday. ¡°A sport game usually lasts for a couple of hours. But we keep competing for 2,000 hours.¡±
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