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New 800 m U20 Record Holder Ko Ochiai Targeting NR and Paris - "I'll Go For It Even If There's Almost No Chance"


Earlier this month at the Shizuoka International Meet, Shiga Gakuen H.S. 3rd-year Ko Ochiai and Higashi Osaka Keiai H.S. 2nd-year Rin Kubo won the men's and women's 800 m races. Both outran older and more experienced athletes to score 1st, but Ochiai's win was especially notable. His time of 1:46.54 bettered both the U20 and high school Japanese records set by Allon Clay when he was a student at Soyo H.S. "I was going for the records," said Ochiai. "I wanted to race some good college and corporate league people to get the best experience I could before the National Championships."

At last October's Yogibo Athletics Challenge meet in Niigata Ochiai had gone out with a similar pace. "I ran according to plan and didn't have to rush it," he said. Over the winter he focused on improving both speed and stamina. "I had a lot left in the tank. With 300 m to go I couldn't move last time, but this time I had enough left to kick over the last 100 m," he said with satisfaction.

In his first year of high school Ochiai ran 1:50.19. As a 2nd-year he improved to 1:47.92 at last summer's National High School Championships. His biggest target this year is the Paris Olympics. "Last year when I ran 1:47 my instincts told me I could get down to 1:45. I talked to my coach and decided that it was important to go for the NR (1:45.75) and Paris, even if the chance is almost 0%." Ochiai is petite for a middle distance runner, but despite his size he is now one of Japan's biggest hopes in the Olympic season.

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