The World Athletics Championships wrapped up August 27 in Budapest after 9 days of competition. Japan earned only one gold and one bronze medal, but it had a record 11 top-8 placings, many in events where Japan has typically lagged behind the rest of the world. After the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the JAAF set about on a program to develop "unwavering athletes" in the lead-up to the Paris Olympics, raising the level of the sport by developing athletes who can perform reliably at the international level.
Women’s javelin gold medalist Haruka Kitaguchi, 25, represents the kind of athlete the JAAF is looking for, along with first-ever World Championships 110 m hurdles finalist Shunsuke Izumiya, 23, 5th in Budapest, and 3000 m steeplechase 6th-placer Ryuji Miura, 21. All three were near the top of the world rankings going into Budapest and performed up to ability there.
All of them show the "unshakability" the JAAF is pushing. All competed in Diamond League meets this season alongside the best in the world. Kitaguchi won twice, and in June Izumiya became the first Japanese athlete to win a Diamond League men’s 110 mH. “When you keep placing at the top of Diamond League meets it builds confidence,” says Kitaguchi. “When you get to know the very best and you compete among them, you start to understand, ‘I have to throw this far at the end if I’m going to win.’ It’s exactly that kind of experience and confidence being strong competition that led her to pull off her last-throw reversal for gold this time.
Izumiya and Miura both easily made it to the finals, but both had to face the reality that they still have a way to go to the medals. Miura, who was only 10 seconds out of gold, said, “Getting that close only shows that I’m not there yet. But being able to feel disappointed at only making top eight is a good thing. It lets me know that I’ve grown.”
The JAAF’s Kazuhiko Yamazaki, who served as head coach of the Japanese team in Budapest, praised the three, saying, “They’ve shown everyone the way forward in becoming globally competitive. With athletes with high goals like these leading the way, others are sure to follow.” But it's a fact that the JAAF doesn't have an unlimited budget when it comes to funding available for development. "We need to have executive-level meetings to discuss acquiring the kind of funding that will create a superior environment for athletes."
While Yamasaki is positive about the increased range of events where Japanese athletes are now making top eight, there is also the issue of a drop in results in events where Japanese athletes have traditionally been strong. While Masatora Kawano, 24, did win one of Japan’s two medals in Budapest in the 35 km RW, a non-Olympic event, the Japanese men came up empty-handed in the 20 km RW for the first time since 2017. With the 20 km RW on the Paris Olympics program, that’s a cause for concern.
In both the 20 km and 35 km race walks, which require both speed and stamina, the supershoes that have reshaped the marathon played a major role. The results this time showed that Japan has to follow suit with the rest of the world. JAAF race walk senior director Fumio Imamura commented, “There are some things where you just have to accept reality and do them.”
With less than a year left until the Paris Olympics, the results in Budapest this time and the lessons learned there will be crucially important in further growth.
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translated by Brett Larner
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