On January 1, adult video (AV) label Muteki released the debut film of a former member of Japan’s national synchronized swimming team. The former athlete stars as Akane Katahira (@katahira_akane) in “Shock! Top Mermaid In Global Competition Makes Debut For Muteki” which is billed by the label as “maximizing a beautiful athletic body and a splendid G-cup chest for dynamic sex.” Prior to her transition from pool to porn, the 26-year-old Tokyo native anticipated her gigantic chest posing a problem — as was the case when she competed as a swimmer — but, she tells Nikkan Spa!, such a concern proved to be overblown. “When my chest began to grow during my first year of high school, it became a hindrance in competition — a synchronized swimmer can’t boast of having such a body,” the actress says. The difference was apparent when she observed the top swimmers from overseas. “Their limbs were long, and their carriage movement very elegant,” she remembers. During her first appearance before a camera, however, the photographer and staff members put her mind at ease. “When I was praised after the shooting finished, I had the feeling that the inner conflict I experienced until that point was gone,” she says. Katahira had her first sexual experience at the age of 14. “At that age, it was painful,” she remembers. “It wasn’t until I was 19 that I began to get a pleasant feeling from sex.” This could largely have been due to her now-discovered masochistic tendencies: She becomes sexually aroused by foul language. “When (my partner at the time) talked dirty, it was a like he had just sounded a large bell,” she says. Her synchronized swimming career ended when she came up short in going to the Olympic Games. She subsequently became employed at an office, which she found somewhat gratifying but she really had an urge “to be conspicuous” and stand out. A mentor at a talent agency took a liking to her and the result was “Mermaid,” a nude photo collection released in December. Most of the reviews for “Shock! Top Mermaid In Global Competition Makes Debut For Muteki” on Amazon.co.jp are highly enthusiastic. (Though the author of a one-star review was disappointed by the “underwater sex” scenes.) For Katahira, she appears to save her erotic endeavors for out of the water. She says that training as a synchronized swimmer can result in improved endurance and stamina — both of which can be beneficial to sex. “Flexibility and strength in the torso trunk can allow for any of a number of acrobatic positions,” she says.(K.N.)