On one of his first days volunteering at the Tokyo Summer Olympics, Mosese Rarasea, 37, found himself starstruck.
He was stationed at the beach volleyball courts in Shiokaze Park in Odaiba, next to Tokyo Bay. While manning an information desk, he spotted German beach volleyball player Laura Ludwig. He tried not to stare, but as an avid beach volleyball player himself he was a bit of a fan.
“I learned a lot of volleyball moves from watching her,” Rarasea says. “She came to ask for the volleyballs, all I could manage was ‘guten tag.’ But after she returned the balls, I built up enough confidence to have a proper conversation.”