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Iizuka Redux: The Future King of Japanese Sprinting?

I don't particularly care about sprinting but I can't stop watching this video, so here it is again. Ladies and gentlemen, freshman anchor Shota Iizuka singlehandedly gives Chuo University a 1-second margin of victory over Waseda University and the Japanese national university record of 38.54 in the men's 4 x 100 m relay at the Kanto Regional University T&F Championships in Tokyo's National Stadium on May 22, 2010.

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Anonymous said…
The hand offs for Chuo were amazing but that anchor leg was absolutely ridiculous. Any idea of split?
May 25, 2010 at 11:15 AM
Anonymous said…
How tall is Shota?
May 25, 2010 at 12:26 PM
Brett Larner said…
He was quite a lot bigger than the other guys but I haven't been able to find his exact height. I'll update it if I do.

No official splits either, but I time him at 9.25 from the time the baton touches his hand to when he crosses the finish line. Anyone with better knowledge of sprint relay split timing feel free to offer a better estimate.

One of the Japanese comments compared the video to the Beijing Olympic final. The comment says Iizuka ran 8.13 from the line on the corner, while Asahara, the anchor on Japan's bronze medal team in Beijing, ran 8.24 and Powell ran 7.80. The guy who filmed this also says that it was like watching a bunch of junior high school kids racing a pro.
May 25, 2010 at 3:19 PM
Matt said…
Looking forward to seeing more of Shota in the future.
May 26, 2010 at 1:36 AM
Goto said…
His height was 184cm (and 75kg) when he was in high school.
He might have got a little bit taller though.

I was really impressed by him the last year when he won 100m for the National Athletic Meet.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zpM2fNmHXo
He clocked his PB of 10.38 in the pretty cold and raining condition, which I thought was great.
But that run is much more impressive!
It is a shame he will avoid the Japanese national the next month in favor of the World Junior Championships.

BTW thanx for all the videos you are uploading!
May 26, 2010 at 10:57 PM
Brett Larner said…
Goto--

Thanks for all that info. I'm sure a lot of people are grateful.

184 cm! Wow, that is big for a Japanese guy. He is taller than me.
May 27, 2010 at 3:29 PM
Brett Larner said…
Matt--

There you go.
July 24, 2010 at 1:27 PM
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