A 26-year-old Japanese ski jumper, Taku Takeuchi, confessed that he has been suffering from Churg-Strauss syndrome, a rare blood vessel inflammation disorder, since 2011. The cause of the syndrome is not known, but one of the most common symptoms is severe asthma. The disease only affects 1 out of 1.2 million people.

When Takeuchi was hospitalised over two weeks in January, he was still maintaining his training in order to compete in the Winter Games. He told his teammates at the time he was suffering from pneumonia. He decided to talk publicly about his illness after winning Japan's bronze medal in the team event. He hopes the medal can cheer up those who are suffering from the same illness.

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