Shingo Suetsugu celebrates (© Rikujyo Kyogi Magazine)
Koji Murofushi, the 2001 World Hammer silver medallist and last season’s Grand Prix Final winner is currently the world’s furthest throwers of the year with his 84.86m Area record, and is number one in the IAAF World Rankings.
The 28 year-old Murofushi is the outstanding Japanese bet for gold at the 9th IAAF World Championships in Athletics, Paris 2003 Saint-Denis (23-31 August) but podium hopes are not just centred on the men’s Hammer. There is of course the strong tradition of the two marathon races and even a few murmurs about even a men’s sprint medal for Japan!
Ken Nakamura now gives us his analysis of two medal prospects:
Can Mizuki Noguchi keep medal streak alive for Japan?
Among the Japanese marathon runners running in Paris, Mizuki Noguchi has the best chance for a medal having won both the marathons she has started. In Osaka, she recorded 2:21:18, making her the 9th fastest marathon runner in history.
Noguchi was a mediocre runner in high school and never made the final in the national inter-high school championships. Furthermore even after joining Wacoal track team in April of 1997 she still had “to look for the race to run,” Noguchi recalls. She always liked the road racing over the track race and was already thinking of the marathon then. Nobuyuki Fujita, a renowned distance coach headed the team, which was one reason why Noguchi decided to join Wacoal.
However, Fujita left the team in October 1998, which caused Noguchi (along with Ikuko Tamura) to follow him and for the next 5 months, they were without a job or team but that didn’t prevent Noguchi from making a stunning breakthrough in the same period by moving up to the half marathon.
In February 1999, Noguchi won her half marathon debut in Inuyama with 1:10:16. After joining the Globaly track team in March, Noguchi finished second in her next three half marathons - second to Fatuma Roba in Matsue, second to Lidia Simon in Sapporo and second to Tegla Loroupe in the World Half marathon championships. In the 1999 World Half, Noguchi finished 11 seconds ahead of Catherine Ndereba, her fastest competition in Paris. For the next two years, Noguchi twice finished fourth in the World Half Marathon championships. She started to dominate the half marathon in Japan, and soon Noguchi was known as the "queen of the half marathon.”
Before her marathon debut in 2002, in the press conference with the presence of Yoko Shibui, the marathon debut record holder at the time, Noguchi openly proclaimed, “My goal is to break the marathon debut record.” Noguchi, who ran 1720Km in 50 days at high altitude, took the lead 7Km into the race in Nagoya because “I like running in front.” Unseasonably warm weather, however, prevented Noguchi from setting a debut record.
In her second marathon in Osaka, Noguchi was tenacious. She covered all the surges thinking, “I trained hard. I cannot lose contact here.” With 5Km to go, Noguchi put on two surges of her own and broke away at 38.5Km.
Noguchi is currently training in San Moritz and hoping to be crowned as the “queen of the marathon” in Paris. Its marathon course is hilly, which might suit Noguchi well, for she have said, “I like running hills.”
Can Shingo Suetsugu bring a first sprint medal to Japan?
Shingo Suetsugu is the future of sprinting in Japan. Earlier this year, he was expected to make the final in Paris. However, after recording 20.03, the Asian record, at 200m in the nationals the possibility of the first sprinting medal by a Japanese runner at the global championships moved closer to reality. In order to increase his chances of a medal, Suetsugu, a double 100m/200m national champion, is concentrating on 200m in Paris.
Unlike his friend Tamesue, Edmonton 400m Hurdles bronze medallist, Suetsugu was not always the national superstar that he is now. Although Suetsugu won the 100m in his age group division at the national games, he failed to win the prestigious national inter-high school championships. His best finishes were eighth at both 100m and 200m.
Suetsugu’s breakthrough year came in 2000, his sophomore year in Tokai University, when he recorded 20.26 for the 200m, a collegiate record. After that the 20-year-old Suetsugu ran 20.37 in his second-round heat at Sydney - the fastest 200m time recorded by a Japanese sprinter at the global championships - and qualified for the semi-final, he was considered the heir apparent to Koji Ito, the 1998 double Asian Games champion.
In the Olympic 4x100m relay, although Suetsugu pulled his muscle mid-race, he miraculously completed his leg and passed the baton to the anchor; the team finished sixth. The following year, he again qualified for the World semi-final in Edmonton, and thus firmly established himself as the best 200m sprinter in Japan.
In 2002, Suetsugu also showed that he was a force to be reckoned in the shorter sprint. In May, he improved his 100m best to 10.05. In the national inter-collegiate championships Suetsugu won three events (100m, 4x100m and 4x400m relays) to lead his team to their first collegiate championships. Then in October, while many of the Japanese favourites were upset at the Asian Games, he won a gold medal at 200m, as had been expected.
Suetsugu’s form used to fall apart in the final 20m of the 200m, but last winter, he worked with weights for the first time, and also incorporated (300m) hill running three to four times a week. In addition, he worked on his form emphasizing the synchronization of arm and leg motion. That all paid off with the Asian record in the nationals.
Suetsugu whose form at the end of the race showed improvement on his previous seasons said, “I want to run a memorable race in Paris. The record gains in significance if it is recorded in the final of the championships.”
Japanese prospects and team, click here
