Skip to main content

Ogata Promises Medal to Hometown Supporters

http://mainichi.jp/area/hiroshima/news/20080710ddlk34050608000c.html
http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20080709-00000034-nks_fl-spo

translated and edited by Brett Larner

Beijing Olympics men`s marathon runner Tsuyoshi Ogata (35, Team Chugoku Denryoku) gave a speech at the Kumanomachi Civic Sports Center in his hometown of Kumanomachi, Hiroshima Prefecture, on July 9th. The 2005 Helsinki World Championships marathon bronze medalist told the crowd of 574 supporters, "All of my training has been with the single thought of `Let's get a medal.` If I get there feeling my best then I have a chance."

The event included a performance by the popular group Moebius of a song they had written to show their support for Ogata. Kumano High School 1st-year student Yuki Nidan (16) spoke on behalf of the school`s track and field team, saying, "We`re all waiting for you to bring the best-colored of all the medals back here." Kumano Junior High School 3rd-year student Yoshin Maeda (15) likewise gave a speech on behalf of his team, telling Ogata, "We always get courage and motivation from watching your running. When we think of you we all want to be the best in the country."

Ogata thanked the crowd, telling them, "It means a great deal to me to have so many people here supporting me. There is a month and a half left until the Olympics, and I will practice as hard as I can in the time I have left." He discussed some of the difficulties he faces as an elite marathoner and shed further light on his preparations while taking questions from the audience. Responding to the question, "How do you plan to deal with the heat?" Ogata said, "I`m not using my air conditioner at home so that I can get used to being sweaty."

Ogata left for training in Abashiri, Hokkaido on July 10th. Later this month he will travel to Beijing for his third test-run of the Olympic marathon course, followed by his final preparations for the main event on August 24th.

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Japan's Olympic Marathon Team Meets the Press

With renewed confidence, Japan's Olympic marathon team will face the total 438 m elevation difference hills of Paris this summer. The members of the women's and men's marathon teams for August's Paris Olympics appeared at a press conference in Tokyo on Mar. 25 in conjunction with the Japan Marathon Championship Series III (JMC) awards gala. Women's Olympic trials winner Yuka Suzuki (Daiichi Seimei) said she was riding a wave of motivation in the wake of the new women's national record. When she watched Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) set the record at January's Osaka International Women's Marathon on TV, Suzuki said she was, "absolutely stunned." Her coach Sachiko Yamashita told her afterward, "When someone breaks the NR, things change," and Suzuki found herself saying, "I want to take my shot." After training for a great run in Paris, she said, "I definitely want to break the NR in one of my marathons after that." Mao

Weekend Racing Roundup

  China saw a new men's national record of 2:06:57 from  Jie He  at the Wuxi Marathon Sunday, but in Japan it was a relatively quiet weekend with mostly cold and rainy amateur-level marathons across the country. At the Tokushima Marathon , club runner Yuhi Yamashita  won the men's race by almost 4 1/2 minutes in 2:17:02, the fastest Japanese men's time of the weekend, but oddly took 22 seconds to get across the starting line. The women's race saw a close finish between the top two, with Shiho Iwane  winning in 2:49:33 over Ayaka Furukawa , 2nd in 2:49:46.  At the 41st edition of the Sakura Marathon in Chiba, Yukie Matsumura  (Comodi Iida) ran the fastest Japanese women's time of the weekend, 2:42:45, to take the win. Club runner Yuki Kuroda  won the men's race in 2:20:08.  Chika Yokota  won the Saga Sakura Marathon women's race in 2:49:33.  Yuki Yamada  won the men's race in 2:21:47 after taking the lead in the final 2 km.  Naoki Inoue  won the 16th r

Sprinter Shoji Tomihisa Retires From Athletics at 105

A retirement ceremony for local masters track and field legend Shoji Tomihisa , 105, was held May 13 at his usual training ground at Miyoshi Sports Park Field in Miyoshi, Hiroshima. Tomihisa began competing in athletics at age 97, setting a Japanese national record 16.98 for 60 m in the men's 100~104 age group at the 2017 Chugoku Masters Track and Field meet. Last year Tomihisa was the oldest person in Hiroshima selected to run as a torchbearer in the Tokyo Olympics torch relay. Due to the coronavirus pandemic the relay on public roads was canceled, and while he did take part in related ceremonies his run was ultimately canceled. Tomihisa recently took up the shot put, but in light of his fading physical strength he made the decision to retire from competition. Around 30 members of the Shoji Tomihisa Booster Club attended the retirement ceremony. After receiving a bouquet of flowers from them Tomihisa in turn gave them a colored paper placard on which he had written the characters