Koki Ikeda won the silver medal and Toshikazu Yamanishi won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics and the men's 20km racewalking.

The facial expressions of the two young Japanese on the podium were completely different.

Ikeda's silver medal and Yamanishi's bronze medal, which can be said to be a feat of the Japanese racewalking world.

The same medalist had only one difference in ranking, but each had a different perception.

The facial expressions of two different people

Ikeda, who appeared in the coverage area "Mix Zone" immediately after the race, responded to the interview with a crisp voice that can be easily heard even at a distance of 2 meters required for social distance.

"I was in second place, but I'm really happy because I've been aiming for medals all the time. I'm full of gratitude to the people who supported me," he expressed his joy.



Yamanishi, on the other hand, had no smile and his expression remained dark, and he seemed to be stiff.

The professed "gold medal" could not be realized.

It seemed that he was doing his best to accept the reality.



What does the "light and darkness" of these medalists show?


I felt that was the "strength" that the Japanese racewalkers had shown to the world.

Ikeda Rival Yamanishi's obsession to win

After the race, Ikeda emphasized that he had beaten Yamanishi.

This is because I often worshiped dust afterwards, especially in the second half of the race I walked with.



"Yamanishi will move someday



."

Yamanishi, who moved earlier, was firmly attached to Italy's Stano, who won the gold medal, and pulled away after 18 kilometers.


It was the result of refining "correspondence to spurts" by making the best use of the reflections so far.



Although he entered Toyo University, a track and field powerhouse, Ikeda was initially in the position of "concurrently serving as a manager."

From there, as a result of "working steadily", I suddenly improved my ability and not only stood on this stage, but also grew to the podium.



You can't compete in the world unless you first beat your familiar domestic rival, Yamanishi.


That thought led to the medal at once.

Champion Yamanishi Moves ahead but is separated

On the other hand, Yamanishi was not happy with the bronze medal.



By winning the adult world championship, the world is heading for this tournament with "Overthrow / Yamanishi".

In the first half, he gradually caught up with the leading players from the back group, and the number was narrowed down to 5 people, which was over 17 kg, and the fact that he sprinkled water over his hated head raised the gear like a signal. I did.

It



was a scene where I felt the personality of Yamanishi, who

"dominates the race himself",

as the "champion", but after about a kilometer, Yamanishi was separated from the other two.

"I had decided to go there. However, there was a lot of waste until then." Was



Yamanishi, who was regarded as a "leading candidate for the gold medal", under the pressure of "defeating Yamanishi"?

At the press conference, he answered, "I didn't feel that much. I was too bad today." He said, "It was my mission as Team Japan to win a gold medal in Tokyo. I'm very sorry that I couldn't do it because I came here, "he said, showing his strong commitment to" money. "

However, the 50km medal of the previous tournament was the first time for medal at the Olympics in Japan racewalking. This is the first time for two of the tournaments for men's 20km.



Even in this situation, the appearance of Yamanishi, who is not convinced by the "Bronze" medal, made me feel that he became a member of the "powerhouse", where it became commonplace for Japanese racewalking to compete on an equal footing with the world. rice field.