Japanese honeymooners stranded in Cape Verde islands become unlikely Olympics ambassadors

The Kataokas had completed a third of their round-the-world trip when they became stranded for five months in the archipelago off the coast of Africa

But Cape Verde’s Olympics officials were so intrigued by the ties the couple had built with locals that they decided to make them part of the team

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Japanese couple Rikiya and Ayumi Kataoka, Cape Verde’s new Olympics ambassadors. Photo: Twitter

Published: 6:00am, 14 Aug 2020Updated: 6:00am, 14 Aug 2020

Japanese couple Rikiya and Ayumi Kataoka had their honeymoon wrecked by the coronavirus pandemic, but their resourcefulness in enforced exile in Cape Verde has won them appointments as ambassadors for its Olympic team.

The Kataokas had completed a third of their round-the-world trip when a suspension in long-haul flights stranded them for five months in the archipelago of 10 tiny islands off the coast of West Africa.

Unable to resume their journey to Europe and then home to Japan and unwilling to head to the African mainland, where virus cases are spiking, they had to trade their skills with domestic businesses to earn funds in the absence of work visas.

But Cape Verde’s Olympics officials were so intrigued by the ties the couple had built with locals that they decided to include the Kataokas in their team heading to the rearranged games in Tokyo next July.

“They want me to be an ambassador of the Olympic team,” Rikiya, 30, said via Zoom, speaking from the island of Sal. “When I go back to Tokyo, I will do a job for them.”

Cape Verde, who have never won an Olympic medal despite participating in every summer Games since 1996, hope to take three or four athletes to Tokyo.