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Rimi Ando, Special Olympics Nippon athlete

Rimi Ando

Rimi Ando joined Special Olympics in 2008 when she was a high school student. She competes in floorball and equestrianism in Fukuoka, Japan. She had also been a Special Olympics Nippon board member for three years.

In 2018, Rimi attended the Global Athlete Congress in the Dominican Republic and communicated with athlete leaders from other countries. She felt nervous at the beginning of the Congress because of the language barrier. However, she slowly started to have a conversation with other athletes by gesture, and she spent some fun time with athletes from all over the world. She said it was one of her good memories in her life. Now she enjoys meeting new people, chatting, and playing sports with other athletes. Outside of her Special Olympics activities, she likes traveling to new places and making handmade earrings.

As a Health Messenger, she was keen to know more about nutrition. She interviewed registered dieticians and learned some healthy eating tips from them. She lives in an apartment by herself so she wanted to know what kind of foods she should cook or eat when she feels tired. Since then, she has been trying to eat healthy and she advises her friends and teammates on healthy eating habits.

Rimi used to get depressed easily because she didn’t know how to maintain her mental wellness, but since she had a few experiences of challenging moments and taking her friends’ advice, she gradually figured out how to treat herself well. Now, when she feels stressed, she tries to relieve her stress by doing some activities such as shopping with her mother or hanging out with friends. She would like to help other athletes who struggle with mental wellness issues by sharing her story.

Health Messengers 2024

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