Japan mourns the loss of Olympic triathlete hopeful, Tsudoi Miyazaki, after she was fatally struck during training

Japan is mourning the death of Olympic hopeful, Tsudoi Miyazaki, after she was fatally struck by a vehicle while training in France on Wednesday. Just last weekend, the 25-year-old triathlete competed at the Pontevedra World Cup in Spain where she placed 50th with a time of 2:13:33.

Following her competition in Spain, Miyazaki took to Instagram to share her experience. “I haven’t reached a good level yet! That is an honest impression. It was a good experience, so I want to make use of what I felt next so that it doesn’t end there! Thank you very much for letting me take on the challenge,” Miyazaki captioned the post in Japanese. “Thank you for your encouragement.”

Miyazaki was in Orleans about 70 miles outside of Paris on a training ride when she was allegedly hit by a vehicle and killed. While details regarding the accident have not yet been released, the French police are investigating and the Japan Triathlon Union (JTU) have sent resources to aid in the investigation.

The JTU released a statement regarding the accident stating, “World Triathlon and the Japan Triathlon Union want to offer our deepest condolences to Ms. Miyazaki family, friends, coaches and teammates,” JTU shared in the statement. “The thoughts of all the Triathlon Family are with you all in these terrible times.”

In college, Miyazaki began competing in triathlons and won the Japan U23 Triathlon Championships in 2019. She continued training and was ranked 142 in the women’s World Triathlon Rankings at the time of her death.

Miyazaki chronicled her training and competitions on Instagram and shared the highs and lows of pursuing her Olympic dreams. She had her sights set on competing at both Paris in 2024 and Los Angeles in 2028, but sadly was robbed of her dream of representing Japan.

The triathlon world will miss her bubbly personality and cheerful smile. May she rest in peace.