Japanese sprinters out to boost Tokyo's Olympic bid
ByReuters
Updated 09/08/2013 at 10:35 GMT
Japan's young sprint hopefuls Yoshihide Kiryu and Ryota Yamagata are hoping to catch the eye at Moscow's World Championships.
Kiryu, 17, is the second fastest Japanese sprinter ever and
his 10.01 second run in Hiroshima in April gave him a share of
the junior world record with Trinidad's Darrel Brown and
American Jeffery Demps.
Koji Ito, who ran 10.00 in Bangkok 15 years ago, is the only
Japanese athlete to have gone faster and Kiryu is bidding to
become the first Asian to go sub-10 when the championships begin
on Saturday.
"Competing in a major event such as the world championships
will be an invaluable experience as I look to the future," he
said in a statement issued by the Tokyo bid committee.
"Should Tokyo receive the honour of hosting the 2020 Olympic
and Paralympic Games, it would be the dream of a lifetime to
inspire the world with a strong performance on my home turf."
Yamagata, a relative veteran at 21, reached the semi-finals
at the London Olympics and is also knocking on the sub-10 door
after clocking 10.07 last year.
"I will be in my prime during the 2020 Games so it would be
an amazing experience if I can run in front all my international
friends in Japan, my home country," he said.
Tokyo, which hosted the 1964 Olympics, is bidding against
Istanbul and Madrid for the 2020 Games, with the decision to be
made in September.
"A strong performance by our track and field athletes would
demonstrate to the world Japan's passion for sport, and surely
give Tokyo 2020 a tremendous boost as we head towards the last
sprint of the 2020 bid race," IOC Member and President of both
Tokyo 2020 and the Japanese Olympic Committee Tsunekazu Takeda
said.
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