Diving Japan Championship 14-year-old Tamai is the youngest winner Men's board diving September 26, 22:48
Rikuto Tamai won the men's board diving in the Japan Championship at the age of 14, breaking the youngest record in this event.
The second diving Japanese Championship held in Nagaoka City, Niigata Prefecture, was held on the 26th, the second day of the tournament.
Of these, Tamai, who won the youngest championship in the men's high diving in this tournament last year, participated in the men's board diving.
Tamai, who advanced to the final in 2nd place in the qualifying, made a mistake in the technique of entering the water backwards, which was the task in the 3rd performance, but after that he showed a stable performance and 40 in 2nd place with 439.35. With a difference of more than a point, he won the first victory in this event.
As a result, Tamai, who turned 14 this month, broke the record for the youngest championship in this event in 1995 by Ken Terauchi, who was in the third year of junior high school at the time.
On the 27th, the final day of the tournament, Tamai will participate in the men's high diving aiming for the second straight victory.
Tamai, the youngest winner "I'm happy to make a record"
Following last year's men's high diving, Rikuto Tamai, who set the record for the youngest championship in the men's board diving, responded to the interview with a slightly lower voice than before, saying, "I am honestly happy to set a new record." I did.
Tamai himself analyzes that he was able to win the championship by diving into a non-specialized board this time, because the growth during the absence of major competitions due to the influence of the new coronavirus was the key.
In particular, it is said that weight training that puts effort into the period when you cannot practice in the pool has strengthened your legs.
Tamai is about 10 cm taller than last year, but he said that he was able to step on the board powerfully without losing to the body that became bigger due to the increased muscle strength of the legs, and the axis of rotation did not shake, which led to the result. is.
Since it is a growing season, the press will ask you about your height and weight at each tournament, so in response to the question that if you grow up on the 26th, the accuracy of your performance and the sharpness of your body rotation will worsen. "It's a little heavier, but (feeling) doesn't change much," he answered.
In the future, we will aim for the Olympics by diving into the board as well as by diving into a specialized high school.
Also, regarding the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics, he said, "I had a desire to do something, but I think that the postponement will increase training so that my performance will gradually stabilize. I want to be strong in my own way this year." Was there.