Skip to main content

Suetsugu Runs First Race in 3 Years to Begin Serious Pre-Olympic Comeback

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/news/111004/oth11100418530007-n1.htm

translated by Brett Larner

After a long period of time away from the sport, 200 m national record and 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Shingo Suetsugu (Team Mizuno) ran his first race in three years when he ran a time trial in Kumamoto on Oct. 1.  The race marked the beginning of a serious effort to make a comeback to full racing capability ahead of next year's London Olympics.

The 31-year-old Suetsugu ran the 100 m at the Oct. 1 time trial, clocking 10.87 in the first heat racing against university students.  After winning the bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics as part of Japan's 4x100 m relay team he took an "indefinite leave of absence" from competition to deal with accumulated fatigue.  Since then he has been based in his native Kumamoto, and beginning in February he started rebuilding and training toward regaining his full strength.

Having heard directly from his former pupil, federation executive Susumu Takano gave hopeful news on Oct. 4, saying, "He told me that his body still feels sleepy, but that it was definitely a step forward."  With regard to the London Olympics he said that Suetsugu told him, "Everything I'm doing is aiming at that target."

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Asian Games Preview - Entries, Timetable and Live Results

Back in Japan for the first time in 32 years and representing 60% of the world's population, with more athletes competing across all sports than at the Olympics, the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games are already underway. Athletics competition starts tomorrow and runs through Tuesday the 29th. Some of the biggest names on the entry list include: Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage (SRI) - men's javelin throw - 2026 World Ultimate Championships gold and 2026 Diamond League champion Haruka Kitaguchi (JPN) - women's javelin throw - 2026 World Ultimate Championships and 2024 Paris Olympics gold Birhanu Balew (BRN) - men's 5000 m/10000 m - 2026 Diamond League 5000 m champion Sanghyeok Woo (KOR) - men's high jump - 2025 Tokyo World Championships silver Hayato Katsuki (JPN) - men's marathon race walk - 2025 Tokyo World Championships bronze Abderrahman Samba (QAT) - men's 400 mH - 2025 Tokyo World Championships bronze Jiale Zhang (CHN) - women's hammer throw - 2025 Tokyo W...

Endo, Nishikawa and Yamakawa Announce Corporate Team Changes

The SG Holdings men's corporate team announced on Oct. 1 that long-distance athletes Hyuga Endo and Yuichiro Nishikawa have joined its roster after leaving the Sumitomo Denko team. Endo, 28, won the Junior Olympics 3000 m while at Koriyama Nishi J.H.S. before going on to Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. where he was the the top Japanese placer in the 5000 m at the National High School Championships 2 years in a row. After graduating from Gakuho Ishikawa he joined the Sumitomo Denko team, winning the National Championships 5000 m in 2021. He won gold at the 2023 Asian Championships and represented Japan at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. "I will give everything I have as part of the team and work hard toward helping it win the New Year Ekiden," he said of his new environment. Of his personal goals he said, "I want to focus on the 5000 m and reach new levels to compete internationally." Nishikawa, 28, was a member of Tokai University 's winning teams at the H...

2 Athletes Provisionally Suspended After Positive Drug Tests at Asian Games

The International Testing Agency announced on Oct. 2 that provisional suspensions have been imposed on two athletes, Kazakhstan's Aiana Bolatbekkyzy in track and field, and Tajikistan's Issamjon Sharifov in tennis, after they tested positive for prohibited substances at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Aichi. Bolatbekkyzy, 19, tested positive for the steroid drostanolone in a sample collected during an in-competition test at the Games. A diuretic drug was found in the sample collected from Sharifov, 23. source article: https://www.sanspo.com/article/20261002-X4FJLT5MMZKFND6WXPOESAKETQ/ translated by Brett Larner