Yume Goto (1500) in the women's 23 meters has always followed her back.

Women's middle-distance ace Kimi Tanaka.

Goto and Tanaka have competed in their hometown of Hyogo Prefecture since junior high school, and are classmates and rivals in high school and college who belonged to the same business team until last season.

Grab Tanaka's back and move forward as much as possible.

“STAY HUNGRY”。

At this year's Athletics Japan Championships, Goto's goal is to win the championship and break away from playing a supporting role.

Kimi Tanaka is a "comrade-in-arms"

Q.What kind of person does Tanaka have for you?

A.We are classmates and have trained together, so we are friends, but I respect them as track and field athletes and they are comrades-in-arms.

If it weren't for Tanaka, I wouldn't be able to continue track and field today.

Q.How do you call each other?

A.Always Kimi-chan and Yume-chan.

Q.What kind of conversations do you usually have?

A.We talk a little bit about athletics, but when I was in college, we talked about sweets and other things away from athletics.

Q.What do you admire about Tanaka?

A.I am not satisfied with winning a match or setting a personal best time, and I always look up and keep working hard.

I've seen them push themselves in practice for a long time, so I have to learn from them.

Q.What is Tanaka's strength in the 1500 meters?

A.I think it's amazing that you can win no matter what the situation is, or that you can see that you are committed to your own running even from the back.

He has been following me ever since I graduated from high school, and that image is burned into me.

However, if we don't get to the point where we run shoulder to shoulder with Tanaka, we won't be able to see the future.

Until last year, I subconsciously thought that I couldn't win, but because I was Tanaka's second, my rebellious spirit and hunger are growing in me year by year.

Q.You beat Tanaka in the race in April. How do you feel about the distance?

A.Even though we won, we didn't both race in good condition and won, so I'm not very satisfied with that.

We're working on speed

Q.What are you working on to win the Japan Championship?

A.We have been working to strengthen the speed since April.

Run the short distance of 4 to 250 meters with all your might, take a short break, and run again at full strength.

We focus on sprint training that repeats this process five times.

In order to win not only in Japan but also overseas, you need a minimum speed to keep up with the race from the beginning.

In addition, I can't switch speeds in the last spurt, and sometimes I coast and run lazily.

The difference in the last lap and the last 300-meter spurt can change your time by two or three seconds, so if you can't squeeze it out, you can't compete.

That's why I consciously train for sprints.

Q.What do you keep in mind when practicing sprints?

A.Around the shoulders.

In my case, I tend to focus too much force on the last spurt, which puts more force on my shoulders and narrows the width of my arms, which makes me lose speed, so I keep that in mind in the second half of practice.

Q.In the women's 5 meters at last year's Japan Championships, you couldn't keep up with Tanaka, who picked up speed at the end of the race, and finished second. If you can follow them there, you will have a chance to win.

A.If I had the speed there, I would have been able to beat Tanaka and switch the speed one more step in the last 1 meters.

I hope to be able to do that this year.

Q.What are the results of your sprint training?

A.In short-distance one-off practice, I can set a time of about 200 or 2 seconds faster than before, but I don't feel that I am tied to it much in the race.

I hope they will mesh well in the race.

The aim is to break away from the "supporting role" of the championship

Q.What are your current feelings before the Japan Championship?

A.I know that this year's Japan Championship is an important match, and unlike last year, I am very nervous and under pressure, but I have a strong desire to win this time.

There have always been times when I couldn't beat Tanaka in second place and win the championship, so I'd like to try not to lose with my mind while aiming to win the championship.

Q.Do you want to show Tanaka your back?

A.To be honest, it is difficult to win by such a large margin that you can show your back.

But if I can compete for 2 points even if it's not just 1 second, and run at the end of the race, I will be thrilled and the spectators will be thrilled, so I hope I can show that kind of race.