, more commonly known as , is a Cambodian ''

owarai is a broad word used to describe Japanese comedy as seen on television. The word ''owarai'' is the honorific form of the word ''warai'' (by adding o- prefix), meaning "a laugh" or "a smile". ''Owarai'' is most common on Japanese variety shows ...

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

who uses his short stature, at and , and cat persona in his act. He is also an avid

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

runner. In 2011, he became a naturalized citizen of

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

, and intended to compete in the Olympics for Cambodia.

Cambodian citizenship

In March 2012, the

National Olympic Committee of Cambodia The National Olympic Committee of Cambodia ( km, គណៈកម្មាធិការជាតិអូឡាំពិកកម្ពុជា, ) is a National Olympic Committee representing Cambodia. External links National Olympic Committee ...

announced that Hiroshi had been nominated to represent Cambodia in the

at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, having been chosen for a "special exemption" after no Cambodian athletes met the qualifying standard. Hiroshi, a naturalized Cambodian citizen since 2011, had participated in half-marathons held in Cambodia for over a year and reached the podium at least twice. He received criticism from, among others, Japanese double Olympic marathon medalist

Yuko Arimori is a Japanese professional marathon runner and a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Career Arimori competed for Japan in the 1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano ...

, whose charity helps develop and train Cambodian athletes in addition to funding their journeys to international competitions. Opponents of Hiroshi's selection for the Olympic Games claim that there are Cambodian-born athletes more deserving of the special exemption, such as

Hem Bunting Hem Bunting ( km, ហែម ប៊ុនទីង, born December 12, 1985) is a Cambodian marathoner. Bunting is one of nine children from a family of farmers in Stung Treng Province. The British Broadcasting Corporation has described hi ...

who has won two long-distance medals at the

Southeast Asian Games The Southeast Asian Games, also known as the SEA Games, is a biennial multi-sport event involving participants from the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia. The games are under the regulation of the Southeast Asian Games Federation with supe ...

since 2007. In May 2012, the

International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body for ...

(IAAF) ruled that Hiroshi was not eligible to represent Cambodia in the 2012 Olympic Games, as a period of one year had not elapsed since his gaining Cambodian nationality. He was, however, selected to represent Cambodia in the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

in the men's marathon. He finished the

Olympic marathon The marathon at the Summer Olympics is the only road running event held at the multi-sport event. The men's marathon has been present on the Olympic athletics programme since 1896. Nearly ninety years later, the women's event was added to the pro ...

in 138th place, next to last.

References

External links

*
Official blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hiroshi, Neko 1977 births Living people Japanese comedians People from Ichihara, Chiba Sportspeople from Chiba Prefecture Japanese emigrants to Cambodia Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Asian Games Cambodian male long-distance runners Cambodian people of Japanese descent Naturalized citizens of Cambodia Olympic athletes of Cambodia Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Asian Games competitors for Japan