Ryota Yamagata, who is aiming to recover from injury in a short distance for men on land, has started the Olympic season by participating in the 100-meter race for the first time in half a year.

28-year-old Yamagata, who has a personal best of 10 seconds in the men's 100 meters, had a reluctant season for the second consecutive year with a pain in his right knee last year, which was the season for recovery from lung disease.



Today, I participated in the 100-meter race at the indoor stadium in Osaki Town, Kagoshima Prefecture, as the first race of the season when results are required for my goal of participating in the Tokyo Olympics.



For Yamagata, it was the race since August last year, and it was hard to move from the start in the qualifying, and although it was a time far from the main condition at 10 seconds 50, he advanced to the final at the top of the whole.



The final, 1 hour and 40 minutes later, with an awareness of improving the start, reached the top in the middle with smooth movements, and although it was caught up at the end, it won the championship with a time of 10 seconds 39 and started the Olympic season. I did.



Yamagata said, "I was nervous, but I was able to enjoy the atmosphere of the match for the first time in a while, and I'm glad I ran two runs without any injuries. I'm glad I was able to improve my run from qualifying to the final." I said.



After that, he said, "There are still many issues to be solved. I would like to improve the content of the run steadily toward the Japan Championships, which will be the representative selection."