At the Tokyo Olympics, the men's 110-meter hurdles qualifying was held, and Shunsuke Izumiya and Taio Kanai decided to advance to the semi-finals on the 4th.
It is the first time in 57 years since the last Tokyo Games in 1964 that Japanese players have advanced to the semi-finals in this event.
The men's 110-meter hurdles qualifying will be divided into five groups, and a total of 24 people, including the top four finishers in each group and the top four in time, will advance to the semi-finals on the 4th.
A total of three players from Japan, Izumitani, Kanai, and Shunya Takayama, participated.
Izumitani, who participated in the 4th group, escaped from a good start at the end of the race and competed with France's Orel Manga for the top, finishing second with a time of 13 seconds 28 and deciding to advance to the semi-finals.
Kanai, who participated in the following 5 groups, finished in 3rd place with a time of 13 seconds 41, holding down 4th place or less at the end even in the close race, and decided to advance to the semifinals following Izumitani.
On the other hand, Takayama, who participated in the 3rd group, was slightly delayed when he caught his foot from the first hurdle, and finally finished 6th with a time of 13 seconds 98, and did not advance to the semi-finals.
In this event, there was a time when the first qualifying round, the second qualifying round and the qualifying round were held in two stages, but it was 57 years since the last Tokyo tournament in 1964 that Japanese players advanced to the semi-finals. It's the first time.
Izumitani and Kanai will challenge the semi-final race on the 4th to advance to the finals for the first time in this event as Japanese players.
Izumitani "I haven't been able to show my full potential yet"
Izumitani said, "I feel that the hurdling has floated and I haven't been able to show my full potential yet, but I think it's a good feeling that I was able to put out the second best. I want to make good use of it in the semi-finals. The first Olympic stage is full of excitement and fun. I said.
Also, based on the fact that he was forced to abstain due to an injury at the 2019 World Championship, he said, "I was very disappointed, so I have been doing my best with the feeling that I will definitely achieve good results at the Olympics. I will do my best next time." I was enthusiastic about the next race, which will take me to the finals.
Kanai "I can't run aggressively and want to fix it."
Kanai recalled the race, saying, "I couldn't run aggressively because the run was floating. I wanted to make a solid flow from the qualifying, but I couldn't make a flow from the first half, and I think I can fix that."
For the semi-final on the 4th, "I don't have time, so I'd like to take good care of myself tonight and welcome tomorrow. I have a strong desire for this match, so I'll do my best to fix it and run well." did.
Takayama "I enjoyed the atmosphere and can make use of it in the future"
Takayama said, "When I landed on the 3rd and 4th cars, I was crushed and crushed in front of me, and I couldn't fix it and hit a hurdle. It wasn't so good, so I forced myself to inspire myself. I tried to move it, but it slipped, "he recalled.
On top of that, he said about the Olympic Games that he participated in for the first time, "I enjoyed that kind of atmosphere. I think that just having this kind of atmosphere will make use of it in my future track and field life, so I will continue to do my best."
Qualifying that attracted attention while the Japanese struggle continued
This is a track event in which the difficult battle continues, with all the Japanese men who participated in the men's 100 meters and 200 meters losing the qualifying.
In the men's 110-meter hurdles, Shunsuke Izumiya and Taio Kanai made it to the semi-finals with plenty of time to stop the bad tide.
All of the Japanese sprinters who participated in the men's 100 meters three days ago and the 200 meters held on the morning of the 3rd were all eliminated in the qualifying, and the team was shocked.
What about the men's 110-meter hurdles players who have achieved rapid growth toward the Tokyo Games, revealing the difficulty of demonstrating their strength on the stage of the Olympic Games, where they compete with the strongest men?
Attention was focused on the qualifying race.
Will it be the first Japanese player to advance to the final?
Izumitani's Japanese record of 13 seconds 06 and Kanai's 13 seconds 16 time is equivalent to a silver medal at the Rio de Janeiro Games.
No worries for the two who have grown to world class.
I got off to a good start as I showed at the domestic tournament, and even if I got into a competition after the middle stage, I kept running without rushing.
Shunya Takayama, who was injured, did not pass the qualifying, but Izumitani and Kanai made good progress in the semi-finals.
It is the first time in 57 years since the last Tokyo Games that Japanese athletes have advanced to the semi-finals in this event, and we aim to advance to the finals for the first time in the race on the 4th.