"Life," as Jeff Goldblum's character Dr. Ian Malcolm says in Jurassic Park, "finds a way." So, too, does Hugo Hoyama. This is not meant to imply, however, that the 50-year-old Brazilian legend is a dinosaur. Born in São Paulo to parents of Japanese ancestry, Hoyama employed the traditional Japanese penhold grip to great effect. A southpaw with an explosive forehand loop, Hoyama became the face of Brazilian table tennis in the 1990s. He made his Olympic debut in Barcelona 1992, the first of his six consecutive appearances as a player. He hung up his playing shoes after London 2012, trading them in for the plusher and less sweat-drenched footwear of the Brazilian women's team coach. In this capacity, he continued his Olympic streak in Rio 2016. This week at the 2019 Latin America Team Qualification in Lima, the Brazilian women secured a berth in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Afterward, an exultant Hoyama exclaimed, "Tokyo will be my eighth Olympic Games!" Like life itself, Hoyama just keeps finding a way.

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