Kohei Uchimura’s mother competes in gymnastics meet

Kohei Uchimura‘s mom competed at a recent Japanese gymnastics event, showing that her Olympic and World champion son isn’t the only member of the family with skills.

Shuko Uchimura competed on all four events, according to Japanese TV reports with footage, at the All Japan Senior Championships over the weekend in her first meet in about 30 years, according to this Japanese report.

Kohei Uchimura, who has won all five Olympic and World all-around titles since 2009, honed his gymnastics at a club run by his parents, reportedly starting at age 3.

Little has been reported in mainstream media about Uchimura’s mother throughout his period of dominance. There was this from a New York Times profile before the London Olympics:

For her part, his mother, Shuko Uchimura, insists that nothing has changed for the family, despite the comparisons to warriors and superheroes, despite her son’s appearances in TV commercials and on the exterior of one of Japan Airlines’s 777s. ''He is still just my son, and we have to stay humble,’' she says. But she is concerned that too much press coverage about her son’s aversion to vegetables sends the wrong message to his young admirers. ''Does he really hate vegetables? That’s a good question. I’m sure he eats them when he needs to. I don’t want kids in Japan to stop eating their veggies just because they think that’s what my son does.’'

Kohei Uchimura will attempt to win another World all-around title in Nanning, China, on Oct. 9.

Boston’s potential advantage in 2024 Olympic bid race

Follow @nzaccardi