This year's Japan Championships, which were held over four days, were a touchstone event that led to the World Championships in August and the Paris Olympics next year.

While many of the talented athletes who experienced the Tokyo Olympics showed their strength, they also faced challenges in competing on the world stage.

Let's look back on the tournament.

Women's 1500m 5000m Tanaka is dominant

Looking ahead to the world stage, this tournament showcased the success of the players who have grown.

One of the most representative of this is Kimi Tanaka, who showed overwhelming strength in the women's 1500 meters and 5000 meters.

After breaking the 1500,8-meter Japan record at the Tokyo Olympics and finishing in eighth place, he turned professional in April and participated in the training of the U.S. team, which is home to top athletes from overseas.

In the 4-meter final, he said, "I started early with the world in mind," and showed an overwhelming run by spurting from after 1500 meters.

Even so, Tanaka kept his sights set on the world, saying, "I don't know if I really squeezed out the last, but I want to beat the real rivals of the world."

Men's 3000m steeplechase "I want to play a snow humiliation" Miura wins third consecutive Games

Ryuji Miura in the men's 3000-meter steeplechase also showed a world-conscious run.

He finished seventh at the Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first Japan athlete to win a prize, but failed to qualify at last year's World Championships.

In order to polish the long spurt in the last 7,1000 meters, I participated in 5000,1000-meter races, which is not my specialty, and was conscious of switching speeds while fatigue accumulated.

In this year's Championships, he took the lead from the beginning and pulled away from the rest of the 3,<>-meter spurt that he had honed to "do his own running" and won the championship for the third time in a row and was selected to represent the world championships.

Men's 110m Hurdles - Izumiya shaves Japan record by 0.02 seconds

In the men's 110-meter hurdles, Shunsuke Izumiya approached the world's top level.

Taking advantage of the hurdling that made use of the spring of the body, he set a new Japan record of 13.04 seconds.

He shortened his Japan record by 0.02 seconds and was selected to represent Japan at the World Championships.

This record is equivalent to a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, and Izumiya vowed to improve further, saying, "I want to aim for the 12-second range."

Takayama Takano, who finished second in this event, was also selected to represent Japan at the World Championships.

Women's Javelin Throw North Exit Unable to show their true strength

For the Japan record holder in the women's javelin throw, Haruka Kitaguchi, it was a challenging tournament.

Having won her first bronze medal in the women's throwing event at last year's World Championships, she is the closest to the world in women's athletics in Japan, but she has never been able to show her true potential.

His record was as low as 59.92 meters, and he finished second in the rankings, shedding tears, saying, "I couldn't throw a single one that I wanted, and I don't know what to do."

I have already been selected for the World Championship team, but I urgently need to rebuild my throwing ability.

Women's 100m Hurdles: Four athletes hit the 4-second mark

High-level athletes were lined up in the same event, and the synergy effect of the rivalry was impressive.

In the final of the women's 100-meter hurdles, four athletes who finished almost horizontally in a headwind marked the 4-second mark.

Tokyo Olympic representative Asuka Terada, who won in 12.12 seconds, Masumi Aoki, who was in second place, who was just short of the same time, Yumi Tanaka, who finished third in 95.2 seconds, and Mako Fukube, the Japan record holder, were fourth.

It was a content that made us hope that before rivals compete for records, they will be able to play an active role in the world.

Men's long jump champion Shiroyama: "This season is perfect"

In the men's long jump, the competition between rivals has also led to an improvement in the level.

Japan record holder Shotaro Shiroyama, who won the championship with a mark of 8.11 meters, has been struggling with injuries but appealed for a comeback, saying, "This season is perfect."

Yuki Hashioka, who finished sixth at the Tokyo Olympics and holds the record of second place in Japan history, missed out on three consecutive titles and revealed his bitter heart, saying, "I'm raving about it, I'm lost."

Even so, he showed his intention to finish second with a leap of over 6 meters, and expectations are high for his future evolution.

Hiromichi Yoshida, who finished 2th, entered the tournament in May with a record of 3.8 meters, the third-best in Japan history, but he was faced with the challenge of eliminating the wave of good and bad forms in order to chase his rivals.

Men's 100m Kiryu misses, Sakai wins for first time

In the men's 100 meters, the star event in athletics, Japan record holder Ryota Yamagata was unable to participate, and Yoshihide Kiryu, who has a time in the 9-second range, was also absent due to injury.

In the final, Sani Brown Abdel Hakeem, who has a personal best of 9.97 seconds, was unable to run as he should due to a leg accident.

The focus going forward will be on how far the next generation of players, such as Ryuichiro Sakai, who won the championship, and Daiki Yanagida, who finished second, can improve their abilities.

After the Corona disaster, the athletic world also has educational activities to prevent voyeurism damage

In this tournament, there were new initiatives in areas other than competition.

Camera seats were set up exclusively for women, tickets for taking photos with athletes were sold, and exchanges were resumed due to the return of spectators after the Corona disaster.

In addition, educational activities were held to prevent the problem of voyeurism among athletes, and it was a tournament where the entire athletics world felt the desire to move forward.

37-year-old Ueno "Proactively, not safe"

Looking ahead to the Paris Olympics next year, this tournament gave us a view of the current location of the athletes.

5000-year-old Yuichiro Ueno, who competed in the men's 37-meter final, had an impressive race.

He led the pack early in the race and showed it by leading the race.

"What is needed is aggressive driving, not safe driving."

Ueno, who also serves as the coach of Rikkyo University, wanted to convey to young players the importance of "not being safe."

It sounded like a message to all the players who are going to take on the big stage.