Hitomi Shintani, who marked the second best record for women in Japan in the marathon held in the United States this month, held a press conference in Tokyo, saying, "I clearly understood that I was lacking in this race, so I can go to the next one. ”He said, aiming to break the Japanese record for the first time in 18 years at the Berlin Marathon in September.
Shintani won the Houston Marathon held in Texas, USA on the 15th of this month with a time of 2 hours 19 minutes 24 seconds, the second fastest in Japan's history, 12 seconds behind Mizuki Noguchi's Japanese record.
Shintani held a press conference in Tokyo on the 23rd, looking back on the race, saying, "I didn't have enough legs in the last 5 kilometers, which had ups and downs. I didn't practice enough on the slopes."
After that, he expressed his intention to participate in the Berlin Marathon, which will be held in Germany in September, and said, "I am able to spend my days feeling inspired by having a goal. So I can move on to the next one." He expressed his desire to break the Japanese record for the first time in 18 years.
On the other hand, he said that he would not aim to participate in the Paris Olympics in the marathon or other events, but as to why, he said, "Being at the Olympics is not everything, and even if you don't go through it, you can still achieve results. I think it had some influence, but at the time of the Tokyo Olympics, I felt how much the people wanted the Olympics.Because athletes are jobs that can only be established with people who support them, what I'm aiming for at the moment No," he said in his heart.