At the Tokyo Olympics and the Men's 50 km Racewalking on Land, the temperature was over 30 degrees Celsius at 8:30 am, three hours after the start of the race.

The heat measures that Japan has been focusing on for many years were expected to be effective only in the longest 50km race, but as a result, it did not lead to a medal.

10 people abstain

The 50 km walk, where the harshness of 10 people abstaining from the 59 people who participated in the harsh heat was conspicuous.

Among the abstaining players was Yohann Diniz of France, who holds the world record.


At the finish point, one player who completed the walk disappeared into the medical office one after another.

One of them is Masatora Kawano of Japan, who won the 6th place.

Kawano managed to walk, even though he fell down to the side of the course, holding his chest over 41 kilometers, saying, "I was hit by the heat."

However, even after entering the medical office, he usually did not show up in the coverage area where the athletes who finished the competition passed because he was "not feeling well".



Two other Japanese players also completed the walk, but three years ago, Hayato Katsuki, who won the gold medal at the hot and humid Jakarta Asian Games and is strong against the heat, was in 30th place behind the early stages.

Satoshi Maruo, who was expected to receive a medal along with Kawano, was 36 kilometers away from the group and finished 32nd.

The cause of the defeat is "insufficient power" The result of measures against heat is ...

Katsuki and Maruo, who responded to the interview, emphasized their own "insufficient power" as the cause of the loss of the race, saying that "there is something that can be done" regarding measures against heat.



In fact, in order to prevent the rise in body temperature as much as possible, the athletes stopped by the water supply area of ​​the Japanese team every lap for 2 km and received a bag containing ice to hold in their hands and a cooling agent to be sprinkled around the neck. In addition, I frequently changed hats with ice inside.

These measures for the Japanese team are a major project that began eight years ago, immediately after the bid for the Tokyo Olympics was decided.

As a result of research and development to find effective countermeasures, three years ago, he won a gold medal at the Jakarta Asian Games for men at 50 kg and a gold medal at the world championship in Doha, Qatar at 20 kg and 50 kg. I have come.



Recently, we have also shown the "evolution" of taking custom-made measures that change the degree and method of cooling the body according to the experience of each player.


Carefully analyze the environment around the venue.

Just one year before the race, I checked the temperature, humidity, heat index, etc. along the course and prepared for the actual race.



Just before the start of this tournament, Masaaki Sugita, chairman of the Japan Association of Athletics Federations Scientific Committee, who has been promoting the project, said, "We will continue to provide scientific support so that the athletes can support what they have spent their lives on. I'm very happy if it leads to good results. "

This time, the men's 50km race for the longest distance and the longest time did not lead to a medal, but on the other hand, the men's 20km on the 5th won silver and bronze medals. Has been obtained.



Koki Ikeda, a silver medal player, said, "I wore a vest that cools my neck, hands and head and cools my body from the time I was up. I was able to work on it with a bullish feeling. "



From the 7th, there will be a women's and men's marathon.


And three years later, in the summer, the Paris Olympics are approaching.


Based on the knowledge we have accumulated so far and the achievements and challenges of this tournament, I feel that it will not be long before the further evolved measures against heat become established as a "weapon" in the Japanese track and field world.