Olympic gold medalist Kosuke Kitajima thanks Mario for victory

With all this coverage of the Olympics, both on television and online, I have seen several sources that have stated that Japanese Olympic swimmer Kosuke Kitajima, after he had won the gold meal for the men’s 100 meter breaststroke, had some very interesting, very videogame-related things to say:

See, Mario does the breaststroke. And thus, it’s perfect mental training for envisioning the actual Olympic hall.

Say what!? Did he just say that videogames can actually do more than keep nerds on their couches? Did he dare to imply that video games can actually prepare us mentally for the greatest physical challenges? It certainly sounds like it.

Actually, Kosuke said that above quote in a joking manner. I think it is worth noting that this is what he said after winning Olympic gold and glory. If I ever achieved such an honor, I would probably thank my trainer or family, and other important people. The fact that he mentions Mario in this context, even in joking, is proof enough that videogames can train you for real goals.

That, or maybe Kitajima is a hard-core Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games fan. Either way, this is proof that athletes and gamers have more in common than we thought.

Read [Gizmodo] Also Read [Kotaku]