Skip to main content

Hattori Reflects on Tokyo 2020


A native of Tokamachi, Niigata, Tokyo Olympics men's marathon team member Yuma Hattori sat for an interview on Sept. 13 about his thoughts on his Olympic race and the future. "After every race up to this point, no matter what, I always felt that I'd lost to myself, that I hadn't been able to beat myself when I looked back at it afterward," he said. "At the Olympics this time my results where what they were, but I think this is the only race I've run where I can say that I defeated myself." 

At the Olympics, Hattori ran in the lead group until mid-race. Then, announcers made the call: "Hattori is losing touch." Right around halfway he started to fall back from the leaders. "At around 22 or 23 km it felt like my footstrikes were getting heavier," he recalled. "Normally I'd try to stay with someone who was passing me and to match their rhythm, but I couldn't even do that, so I knew something was wrong."

The temperature at that point was 28˚C with 80% humidity, tough conditions that forced 30 people to drop out. But despite the conditions, Hattori persevered. Experiencing heat stroke and knee pain, he staggered down the home straight but made it to the finish line. "Three years from now if I play an active role in the next Olympic marathon then I'll know that fighting my way through this race wasn't a wasted effort," he said. "Between now and then I want to move forward in a way that'll show that finishing this one made me stronger." 

Turning his time on the biggest of stages to his advantage, Hattori aims to gradually build his training back up and to return to racing at the end of the year.

source article:
translated by Brett Larner

Buy Me A Coffee

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Andrew Armiger said…
End of the year, possibly a return to Fukuoka where he DNSed last year?

Also, had you seen this item? https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/d88b9d55cd82d8b8423fa3070f8f41c529f29cf1
September 15, 2021 at 11:25 PM
Brett Larner said…
Fukuoka might be possible, but I was thinking it more likely he'd be racing again at the New Year Ekiden. And yes, I saw Suzuki was added to Chicago. Tweeted about it but not here yet.
September 16, 2021 at 8:14 AM
Post a Comment

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...
1 comment
Read more

Nagoya Women's Marathon Preview

The Nagoya Women's Marathon , the world's largest women-only marathon and the last race in the selection cycle for September's Tokyo World Championships, happens Sunday. Weather conditions are looking better than what they had in Tokyo and Osaka the last two weekends, 7˚ at the start and rising to 12˚ with sunny skies. The wind looks a bit stronger than ideal, but it could be worse. Fuji TV has the live broadcast starting at 9:00 a.m. Sunday local time, and if you've got a VPN you should be able to watch the TVer streaming . One option for  a leaderboard is here , and another here . We'll have some coverage on @JRNLive . Just like last time around there are three Ethiopian and Kenyan-born athletes at the top list, this time it being sub-2:20 women Sheila Chepkirui , winner in NYC last year, and Ruti Aga , winner in Xiamen in January, and last year's Nagoya runner-up Eunice Chebichii Chumba . But last year Yuka Ando still pulled off the win, so there's a c...
Post a Comment
Read more

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 ...
1 comment
Read more