Skip to main content

Kiryu Confident Ahead of Shot at First Japanese Sub-10: "I Want to Go Out There and Have Some Fun"

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20130504-00000224-sph-spo

translated by Brett Larner

At a Tokyo-area press conference on May 4 promoting the May 5 Seiko Golden Grand Prix Tokyo track and field meet at Tokyo's National Stadium, the new star of the men's 100 m, Yoshihide Kiryu (17, Rakunan H.S.), appeared confident before his shot at the first Japanese men's sub-10 clocking, revealing that his mental keywords ahead of the race are "fun" and "second half."

At the April 29 Oda Memorial Meet Kiryu ran 10.01, the all-time second-fastest Japanese men's time and both tying the world junior record and clearing the Japanese Federation's criteria for the Moscow World Championships team.  "That time surprised me too," said Kiryu.  "but I've gotten myself together mentally and I'm ready to take on this race."

Having reviewed videos of his race at home he feels that he now understands what he needs to do to achieve a 9-second clocking.  The first point he brought up was improving the second half of his race.  "The start and the middle part of the race were good, but in the second half I lost power in my stride," he said.  "I was too conscious of the finish line and leaned 10 meters too soon.  My goal this time is to stay focused straight ahead."  By raising his line of focus he plans to run through the line and believes that will allow him to hit his time goal.

Kiryu also places importance on his mental state.  "I always enjoy my running and get good times as a result, so this time I want to go out there and have some fun when I run," he said.  "If I stay relaxed I think I'll run a fast time."  Tokyo will be his first time racing foreign competition, but even so Kiryu was confident and self-composed at the press conference, without stress, anxiety or aggression but hopeful and looking forward to the main event.  Asked about what foreign athletes he would most like to race, the high school senior brought up 9.58 world record holder Usain Bolt of Jamaica.  Joining Bolt sub-10 is only the first step on the road to Kiryu achieving his dreams.  "I want to run a faster time than I did at the Oda Memorial Meet," he said.  "I'm ready to put myself into making that happen."

Yoshihide Kiryu: Born Dec. 15, 1995 in Hikone, Shiga.  17 years old.  Senior at Rakunan H.S. in Kyoto.  Played goalkeeper on his elementary school's soccer team but began running as a first-year at Rakunan J.H.S.  At last October's Gifu National Sports Festival 100 m set a world youth record of 10.21, then improved that to 10.19 in November.  175 cm, 68 kg.  Lives with his parents and older brother.

Click here for the IAAF's preview of the the Golden Grand Prix Tokyo meet.  TBS will broadcast the Golden Grand Prix Tokyo meet live from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.  Overseas viewers should be able to watch online via Keyhole TV.  Oscar Fernandez reports that there will be overseas streams available here and here as well.

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Chepkirui Wins Nagoya Women's Marathon

Heavy-duty favorite Sheila Chepkirui took the win at Sunday's Nagoya Women's Marathon , pulling away after 30 km to cruise in for 1st in 2:20:40. Erratic pacing early saw the first and second groups only seconds apart for much of the first half of the race, the top group slower than planned and the 2nd group a bit ahead of schedule. At halfway in 1:10:37 the front group included Chepkirui, #2-ranked Ruti Aga and last year's runner-up Eunice Chumba , and Japanese contingent Sayaka Sato , Rika Kaseda , Natsuki Omori and Mao Uesugi . Omori was the first to drop, then Uesugi, then Aga, who ultimately dropped out before 30 km. When the pacers stopped at 30 km Chepkirui made a move that dropped Kaseda and strung out Chumba and Sato behind her, but all four came back together once before another surge put Kaseda away for good. As Chepkirui inched away Sato and Chumba passed each other repeatedly, and Chumba could only watch as the top Japanese runner got away from her again thi...

Who's Running Tokyo Worlds?

The Japanese marathon teams will be the most prestigious ones to be on for September's Tokyo World Championships, and with Sunday's Nagoya Women's Marathon the window for Japanese athletes to get onto the JAAF's shortlist closed. Who's on it? The final decision won't be made until Mar. 26, but let's look through the selection criteria and see who's guaranteed, who's pretty likely, and who has a chance. 1. Marathon medalists at the Paris Olympics - There weren't any, so nobody makes the team this way. Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) and Yuka Suzuki (Daiichi Seimei) were the top placers, both of them running PBs in the Olympics to finish 6th. You'd think that would count for something a year later, but you'd think wrong. 2. JMC Series IV Champions - The top point scorers in the Japan Marathon Championship Series IV, which ran from April, 2023 to March, 2025, earn places on the marathon teams along with cash prizes. For women that's Yuka ...

Tokyo Marathon Top Japanese Man Tsubasa Ichiyama Works 4 Days a Week, Walked On in College

38,000 people ran the 2025 Tokyo Marathon . Every runner had their own story, but one of the most special was Tsubasa Ichiyama (Sunbelx). Despite being on almost nobody's radar, he outran some of the best in the country to finish as the top Japanese man. Ichiyama ran most of the race in the 3rd pace group, going through halfway in 1:02:44 and 30 km in 1:29:13. When the pacers stopped, he showed what he could really do. "I'm not good at downhills, so in the first part it was hard to run smoothly," he said at the post-race press conference. "But after the downhill part ended I got into my rhythm, and I think that helped me over the 2nd half." After dropping Asian Games gold medalist Hiroto Inoue (Mitsubishi Juko) and others, he quickly bore down on the Japanese athletes who had gone out faster in the 2nd pace group. Overtaking Paris Olympics 6th placer Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) and Yuhei Urano (Fujitsu), at 39.8 km he caught all-time Japanese #2 man Yohei I...