Skip to main content

World Championships 10000 m Runner Kayo Sugihara Visits Her Old High School in Izumo

http://sankei.jp.msn.com/region/news/110714/smn11071401520000-n1.htm

translated and edited by Brett Larner

Named to the Japanese national team for next month's World Track and Field Championships in Daegu, Korea, 10000 m runner Kayo Sugihara (28, Team Denso) visited her former high school, Izumo Shogyo H.S. in Izumo, Shimane, on Aug. 13.  Sugihara won the 10000 m at June's National Track and Field Championships.  In 2007 she ran the 5000 m at the Osaka World Championships, meaning Daegu will be her second appearance at Worlds.  "I want to run an active race and break my best time," she told the assembled crowd with resolve.

Sugihara spoke in the high school's auditorium in front of a crowd of 200 including 158 seniors, 9 members of the school's track and field team, Izumo Shogyo graduates and assorted visitors.  Her former coach Koji Yamane talked about Sugihara's high school-era running, saying, "At first she got injured a lot and had constant problems with anemia, but although she could never really fully train she still laid the groundwork for getting where she is now."  Watching a video of the race that sealed her place on the Daegu team, the crowd all broke into applause when Sugihara broke away from her rivals with a strong kick over the last 200 m.

After receiving a bouquet of flowers form track and field team captain Miki Osaka Sugihara again addressed the crowd, saying, "It has been ten years since I graduated, but this opportunity came to me because of the three years I spent here.  In my race at the World Championships I want to show you all how much I've grown."

The women's 10000 m takes place on the Aug. 27, the first day of competition.  If Sugihara wins a medal she will secure a place on the London Olympic team.  "The Olympics are my ultimate goal," she said, her eyes sparkling.

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Morii Surprises With Second-Ever Japanese Sub-2:10 at Boston

With three sub-2:09 Japanese men in the race and good weather conditions by Boston standards the chances were decent that somebody was going to follow 1981 winner Toshihiko Seko 's 2:09:26 and score a sub-2:10 at the Boston Marathon . But nobody thought it was going to be by a 2:14 amateur. Paris Olympic team member Suguru Osako had taken 3rd in Boston in 2:10:28 in his debut seven years ago, and both he and 2:08 runners Kento Otsu and Ryoma Takeuchi were aiming for spots in the top 10, Otsu after having run a 1:01:43 half marathon PB in February and Takeuchi of a 2:08:40 marathon PB at Hofu last December. A high-level amateur with a 2:14:15 PB who scored a trip to Boston after winning a local race in Japan, Yuma Morii told JRN minutes before the start of the race, "I'm not thinking about time at all. I'm going to make top 10, whatever time it takes." Running Boston for the first time Morii took off with a 4:32 on the downhill opening mile, but after that  Sis

Saturday at Kanaguri and Nittai

Two big meets happened Saturday, one in Kumamoto and the other in Yokohama. At Kumamoto's Kanaguri Memorial Meet , Benard Koech (Kyudenko) turned in the performance of the day with a 13:13.52 meet record to win the men's 5000 m A-heat by just 0.11 seconds over Emmanuel Kipchirchir (SGH). The top four were all under 13:20, with 10000 m national record holder Kazuya Shiojiri (Fujitsu) bouncing back from a DNF at last month's The TEN to take the top Japanese spot at 7th overall in 13:24.57. The B-heat was also decently quick, Shadrack Rono (Subaru) winning in 13:21.55 and Shoya Yonei (JR Higashi Nihon) running a 10-second PB to get under 13:30 for the first time in 13:29.29 for 6th. Paris Olympics marathoner Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) was 9th in 13:30.62. South Sudan's Abraham Guem (Ami AC) also set a meet record in the men's 1500 m A-heat in 3:38.94. 3000 mSC national record holder Ryuji Miura made his debut with the Subaru corporate team, running 3:39.78 for 2n

93-Year-Old Masters Track and Field WR Holder Hiroo Tanaka: "Everyone has Unexplored Intrinsic Abilities"

  In the midst of a lot of talk about how to keep the aging population young, there are people with long lives who are showing extraordinary physical abilities. One of them is Hiroo Tanaka , 93, a multiple world champion in masters track and field. Tanaka began running when he was 60, before which he'd never competed in his adult life. "He's so fast he's world-class." "His running form is so beautiful. It's like he's flying." Tanaka trains at an indoor track in Aomori five days a week. Asked about him, that's the kind of thing the people there say. Tanaka holds multiple masters track and field world records, where age is divided into five-year groups. Last year at the World Masters Track and Field Championships in Poland he set a new world record of 38.79 for 200 m in the M90 class (men's 90-94 age group). People around the world were amazed at the time, which was almost unbelievable for a 92-year-old. After retiring from his job as an el