Japan’s two young sprint hopefuls Yoshihide Kiryu and Ryota Yamagata are hoping to catch the eye at the Moscow world championships, not only to develop their own careers, but also to boost Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games.
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.
‘INVALUABLE’
“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 honor 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,” he said.
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.
‘PRIME’
“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 next month.
“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.
Jobe Bellingham on Tuesday admitted to having “anxieties” on following in brother Jude’s footsteps after joining Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Jobe Bellingham, 19, is two years younger than Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid in 2023 after three years at Dortmund. A centerpiece of the England national team, Jude Bellingham has emerged as one of the best players in the world in recent seasons. The younger Jobe Bellingham joined Dortmund in June from Sunderland after their promotion to the English Premier League. He admitted he understood what the perception would be ahead of the move to Germany. “It’s something you do think about.
Before Tuesday’s 7-2 win at the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested “most people couldn’t tell you five players on our team.” A look at the standings would indicate more Brewers players soon will be recognized by more fans. After all, it is difficult to overlook a team that not only continues to extend their lead in the National League Central, but also boasts the best record in the majors. “What we’re doing in here right now is special,” right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta said after allowing only four hits and one run in five innings, while setting a career high with
A baseball team from New Taipei City won the US Pony Palomino Division World Series yesterday in Laredo, Texas, defeating the US West representative team from Azusa, California, 2-1. Ku-Pao Home Economics and Commercial High School earned the right to represent Taiwan in the Pony Palomino (17 to 18 age group) World Series after winning this year's Wang Chen-chih Cup, a competition named after Taiwanese-Japanese baseball legend Wang Chen-chih (王貞治), also known as Sadaharu Oh. In the championship game against Azusa, Ku-Pao's starting pitcher Luo Yu-yan (羅于晏) was erratic early, giving up two hits in the bottom of the first inning, followed
NEXT ROUND: World No. 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka opened their title defenses with straight-sets wins, while Iga Swiatek and Taylor Fritz also advanced Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka got their title defenses off to smooth starts as they powered into the third round of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Saturday. The men’s and women’s top seeds, each ranked No. 1 in the world, were both competing for the first time since Wimbledon, where Sinner lifted the title and Sabalenka bowed out in the women’s semi-finals. Sinner crushed Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan 6-1, 6-1 in steamy afternoon weather, while Sabalenka beat 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-5, 6-1 under the lights of the night session. Sabalenka needed 54 minutes and a service break in the final game
RSS