Skip to main content

92-Year-Old 100 m WR Holder Hiroo Tanaka Disappointed to Run 18.17



Men's 90+ 100 m world record holder Hiroo Tanaka has become a household name in Aomori. On the Sept. 18 Respect for the Aged Day national holiday Tanaka, 92, planned to go for his own world record at a masters track and field meet held in Hirosaki, Aomori. 140 people took part in the Aomori Masters Track and Field Championships, but there was no question who drew the most attention. 

Tanaka competed in the 400 m, and 2 hours later lined up again in the 100 m. He started well, but after losing momentum in the middle part of the race he finished in 18.17. Having been suffering from lower back problems recently, that time was almost a second off his best, but Tanaka still had enough in him to come back and run the 200 m afterward. 

"My typical training isn't that hard, and I'm able to work out 5 days a week," he said. "Once I turn 95 I don't know if there'll be any other competitors or not. The number will be close to zero, so my chances will be very good. It's all about not getting sick and not getting injured."

With his drive for success, fans can look forward to Tanaka continuing to go for new records.

source article:
translated by Brett Larner

Buy Me A Coffee

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 Hakone Ekiden

The Hakone Ekiden is the world's biggest road race, 2 days of road relay action with Japan's 20 best university teams racing 10 half marathon-scale legs from central Tokyo to the mountains east of Mount Fuji and back. The level just keeps going higher and higher , hitting the point this year where there are teams with 10-runner averages of 13:33.10 for 5000 m, 27:55.98 for 10000 m, and 1:01:20 for the half marathon. It's never been better, and with great weather in the forecast it's safe to say this could be one of the best races in Hakone's 102-year history, especially on Day One. If you've seen it then you know NTV's live broadcast is the best sports broadcast in the world, with the pre-race show kicking off at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on the 2nd and 3rd and the race starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it on TVer starting at 7:50 a.m. on the 2nd , and again at 7:50 a.m. on the 3rd . There's even a 2-hour high...

Mashiko Breaks U20 5000 m NR - Weekend Track Roundup

Saturday's Kanakuri Memorial Meet in Kumamoto was the weekend's main event in Japanese track, but there were good results at the Nittai University Time Trials meet in Yokohama too. Emmanuel Maru (Toyota Boshoku) led the men's 5000 m A-heat at Kanakuri in 13:14.06, with Tomonori Yamaguchi (SGH) clocking the fastest Japanese time in 13:16.38 in his first race as a corporate leaguer. Waseda University duo Rui Suzuki and Yota Mashiko went 6-7 in 13:20.64 and 13:22.87, the 18-year-old Mashiko shaving 0.04 off the U20 NR. In 8th, Yamato Yoshii (Toyota) ran a PB of 13:23.92. 3000 mSC NR holder Ryuji Miura (Subaru) continued to struggle after a weak indoor season, finishing 18th of 20 finishers in 13:45.10. 19-year-old Festus Kimorwo (Kurosaki Harima) was under 13:20 in the B-heat too, winning in a 13:19.59 PB. 2 more collegiate men broke 13:30, Daichi Fujita (Chuo Univ.) 8th in 13:28.93 and Riki Koike (Soka Univ.) 9th in 13:29.09. The top 6 in the men's 800 m A-hea...