June 4th, the last day of the Japan Athletics Championships. The day before, women’s triple jumper Mariko Morimoto (Uchida Kensetsu AC) broke the Japanese record for the first time in 24 years, and four women’s 100m hurdlers fought fiercely in the 12 second range of a rice field.
Shunsuke Izumiya, who was showing good form with the top running of qualifying.
Japanese record holder Shunsuke Izumiya (Sumitomo Electric), who had passed the qualifying session the day before, faced serious headwinds of 0.9m. Although he was ahead of the others, he picked up speed in the middle of the stage with sharp running between the hurdles, increasing his speed and passing Takayama in 0.26 seconds to reach the goal. The record is 13.04. He broke the Japanese record he had set two years ago by 0.02 seconds, and achieved a world-class time for a third consecutive victory.
Still, Izumiya did not reveal his joy.
“To be honest, I wanted to run in the 12-second range, but with a headwind, I thought a 13-second range would be fine.”
Kiminami Kinen on May 7th was the first race of this season, and there he posted a time of 13.25 seconds, breaking the standard record of 13.28 seconds for participating in the World Championships. And at the Seiko Gold Grand Prix on the 21st, he made a great start to the season by winning in 13.07 seconds, even among foreign competitors.
Juntendo University coach Kazuhiko Yamazaki explains why Izumitani didn’t express his joy in a big way, saying, “When I saw his run at the Golden Grand Prix, I thought he wouldn’t break the 12-second range. So I guess I don’t like it,” he explains.
“In the first half, I was a bit nervous when Mr Takayama died, but I think it’s great that I was able to show my own qualities in the race. first half you have an image of calming down, but I think I was able to take advantage of the recent characteristics of middle hurdles without being rushed.” (Izumiya)
The two 13.07 seconds in the Golden Grand Prix and 13.04 seconds this time are the second highest on the world list this season, behind the two-time world champion, Grant Holloway (USA) with 13.01 seconds. Western athletes have not started racing in earnest yet, but compared to last year’s world list, they are both a world record, which equates to 6th place.
“I’ve come this far so quickly that I can’t set a clear next goal yet, but I think it would be good if I could continue to practice and just go with the flow. The reason about this is that I have a lot of support around me, so I’m grateful for that. I have a coach I can trust and a coach I can rely on. Thanks to the management who can do a great job, i think i can compete well.
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