REI OHTSUKA

Future of Sports Medicine,
Youth Advocate

Rei Ohtsuka is a 17 year old secondary school student residing in Tokyo, and he aims to pursue a career in sports medicine and nutrition to support student athletes better train and maintain their overall health for higher peak performance. 

When Rei was young, he had to deal with frequent injuries, which continuously tested both his physical and mental strength and resilience. Despite regular warm-ups, his body has gone through many cycles of injuries and healing. However, this has not stopped Rei from being a total go-getter on the field, often playing the important role of firing up his team and leading them towards victory. These experiences have taught Rei the valuable lesson that, no matter how many times a person can face crisis, as long as one is anchored by a bigger purpose, one will always rise to the challenge and garner support from peers.

At school, Rei takes an interdisciplinary approach to his education, both in and out of school. Academically, he excels in English and physical education, and frankly anything sports related. Outside of academics, he is focused on soccer, interested in American football, and is a volunteer and member of the Social Activity Group, where he co-designs social justice campaigns for minority rights. While being committed to his broad range of activities, he finds time to spend time with family and friends through movies, meals and vacations, and he even hitchhiked after realizing he spent all his leftover cash on ramen once. Such experiences have shaped him to treasure his time with those he cares about. 

Looking ahead, he aims to level up on both education and experience based learning in the medical field, integrating sports medicine and sports nutrition as his pathway to societal impact. He is particularly interested in knees and joints, as they fundamentally impact athletic performance. In the long run, he aims to apply his knowledge and efforts to advocating for a balance of quality preventative and post-trauma care for athletes.