Kenki Sato

Kenki Satō (Japanese佐藤 贤 希, Satō Kenki; born July 11, 1984 in Ogawa in Nagano Prefecture, Japan ) is a Zen Buddhist monk, as eventers at the Summer Olympic Games in London with the Japanese team to 12th place occupied.

Private

Kenki is a member of a Japanese rider and priestly family. He grew up with his siblings in the mountain village of Ogawa in the 450 year old Buddhist temple Myōshō -ji (明松 寺) on.

He studied law at Meiji University in Tokyo.

Equestrian life

Kenki has been riding since the age of seven. In his childhood, the low-lying mountains in the temple reached no automobiles, but for locomotion and transport horses were used. His father Shōdō (佐藤 正道) is abbot ( jūshoku ) of the temple and in 1980 was nominated as a member of the Japanese equestrian team for the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, but he could not attend because of the former Olympic boycott. Next to the temple there is an equestrian center, where his father and his brother Shōdō Eiken, his sister Tae (佐藤 泰) and Kenki train horses. Tae won five times a national equestrian competition. Eiken, a Zen priest, was a member of the Japanese jumping team for the Olympic Summer Games 2008. Equestrian competitions were held here in Hong Kong.

Horse riding

Kenki opted not to participate in the 2008 Summer Olympics to complete his priestly training.

After his ordination in 2010, he went to the German Olympic participants Dirk Schrade to Sprockhövel, to prepare for his part in the Olympics in 2012. Since the summer of 2011, he trained in Horb - Altheim at the 2012 Olympic gold medalist, World and European Champion Michael Jung of Eventing. In Altheim now live Kenkis wife Kiyo, which is responsible for the care of his horses, and their common two children, and his horses Chippieh and Toy Boy.

As a participant of the 16th Asian Games 2010 in Guangzhou, China, he won the gold medal in the eventing individual ranking.

In the 2012 Olympics he was on his horse Chippieh after the dressage on the 15th rank. In the grounds, however, he crashed which meant the premature end of the race for him. The Japanese team reached the 12th place.

After his part in the Olympics, he wanted to stay until the winter of 2012 in Germany, and then return to Ogawa. According to Michael boys father of this plan was rejected: " Kenki wept bitterly in the barn. The next day, his parents, who were here in London, came to me and asked if Kenki still could stay Michaels pupils, his goal were indeed the 2014 World Cup and the games in Rio. " Thus Satō will continue to be based in Germany.