Skip to main content

100 m NR Holder Ito: Japan Has Entered the Ranks of the World's True Relay Powerhouse Nations

an editorial by Koji Ito 
men's 100 m national record holder
JAAF Development Committee Chair

In London Japan won the men's 4x100 m relay bronze, its first-ever World Championships 4x100 m medal. I'm glad that they were able to win a medal. My honest impression was that they have done well to come this far. Before the race started sprint coach Shunji Karube was saying, "They're totally going to medal," but a key part of Japan's strength is in fact the rich experience he and Coach Hiroyasu Tsuchie bring to the picture. I think their tactics are amazing. During the heats they could make an assessment of Aska Cambridge's situation in just half a day and replace him with Kenji Fujimitsu, who delivered a solid run.

Japan has entered the ranks of the world's true relay powerhouse nations. Apart from leading man Shuhei Tada, the other three members were talking before the race in a totally relaxed way that would have been unthinkable in my era. The final makeup of the team, its color, was important too, the mix of youth, mid-career and veteran runners and the depth that has emerged at each level. For the future we have to develop greater depth to be able to put together two 37-second teams like this year's world champion Great Britain.

Japanese Men's 4x100 m Relay World Championships and Olympic Games History

2017 London World Championships - bronze - 38.04
2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games - silver - 37.60 - AR
2015 Beijing World Championships - 4th, Heat 1 - 38.60
2013 Moscow World Championships - 6th - 38.39
2012 London Olympic Games - 4th - 38.35
2011 Daegu World Championships - 4th, Heat 2 - 38.66
2009 Berlin World Championships - 4th - 38.30
2008 Beijing Olympic Games - bronze - 38.15
2007 Osaka World Championships - 5th - 38.03 - AR
2005 Helsinki World Championships - 8th - 38.77
2004 Athens Olympic Games - 4th - 38.49
2003 Paris World Championships - 6th - 39.05
2001 Edmonton World Championships - 4th - 38.96
2000 Sydney Olympic Games - 5th - 38.31 - AR tie
1999 Seville World Championships - did not qualify
1997 Athens World Championships - 5th, Semifinal 2 - 38.31 - AR
1996 Atlanta Olympic Games - DQ, Heat 2
1995 Gothenburg World Championships - 5th - 39.33
1993 Stuttgart World Championships - 7th, Semifinal 1 - 39.01
1992 Barcelona Olympic Games - 6th - 38.77
1991 Tokyo World Championships - 6th, Heat 2 - 39.19
1988 Seoul Olympic Games - 5th, Semifinal 1 - 38.90
1987 Rome World Championships - 5th, Semifinal 1 - 39.71
1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games - did not qualify
1983 Helsinki World Championships - did not qualify

source article: https://www.nikkansports.com/sports/athletics/news/1871951.html
translated by Brett Larner
photo by Ekiden Mania, © 2017 Kazuyuki Sugimatsu, all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Arao Becomes 1st Man in 40 Years to Score Back-to-Back Ome Road Race Wins

30 km is an under-appreciated distance, and both of Japan's big races at that distance happened Sunday. At the Ome Road Race in western Tokyo's mountains, Sydney Marathon 6th-placer Masato Arao (ND Software) became the first man since the great Kunimitsu Ito in 1985-1986 to win back-to-back years. Arao, who finished 39th of 40 on his leg at the New Year Ekiden last month, stayed in the pack through 20 km before going on the attack, putting over a minute on New Year Ekiden Sixth Stage CR breaker Yudai Shimazu (GMO). Sub-1:31 winning times are rare on the tough and hilly Ome course, but Arao's 1:30:54 almost equaled his 1:30:50 from last year, making him the first Japanese man ever to do it twice and second only to CR holder Ezekiel Cheboitibin . Next up Arao races the Tokyo Marathon, where he is targeting sub-2:06. Shimazu was 2nd in 1:31:58 and Yuta Nakayama (JR Higashi Nihon) 3rd in 1:32:07. Cheboitibin was only 9th, running almost 8 minutes off his CR in 1:36:42. Shi...
3 comments
Read more

Nagoya Women's Marathon Elite Field

Last year's top 3 Sheila Chepkirui , Sayaka Sato and Eunice Chebichii Chumba are back for this year's Nagoya Women's Marathon on Mar. 8, but things are being set up more for it to be a race between Chepkirui, 2:17:49 in Berlin 2023, Aynalem Desta , 2:17:37 in Amsterdam last fall, and Japanese NR holder Honami Maeda , 2:18:59 at the Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2024. Aynalem has the freshest sub-2:20 of the 3, with neither Chepkirui nor Maeda having done it in 2 years. Maeda's only recent result is a 1:10:07 from Houston last month, but when she ran her NR she didn't have any kind of tuneup race to indicate her fitness so it's probably best not to read too much into that. If it goes out as a 2:18 race those are the only 3 who can probably hang with it. If it turns out to be more of a 2:20 race like when Chepkirui won in 2:20:40 last year then there's a group of 7 at the 2:20-2:22 level who will be in the picture, including Chumba, Selly Chep...
Post a Comment
Read more

'Kobe 2024: Aitchison, Athmani Lead Record-Breaking Thursday'

  https://www.paralympic.org/news/kobe-2024-para-athletics-world-championships-aitchison-athmani-lead-record-breaking-thursday Complete results and daily schedule from the Kobe World Para Athletics Championships are here .
Post a Comment
Read more