JAPAN’S FEMALE LONDON OLYMPIC HOPEFULS/ World-class sprinter emerges
2010/12/28
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Chisato Fukushima says Japan is a strong contender to medal in the 400-meter relay. (The Asahi Shimbun)
At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Japanese women won gold medals in softball, judo and wrestling. Looking ahead to the 2012 London Olympics, expectations are high for Japan’s women athletes.
Following is the final installment of our seven-part series looking at Japan’s female medal hopefuls for London 2012.
Japan’s female sprint team felt like the world was miles in front of them–until two years ago, that is.
The circumstances are dramatically different now, and Chisato Fukushima is the one who triggered that change.
Fukushima began to seriously train for the Olympics in early 2008, when she was invited to the national team training camp and heard about Team Japan’s goal of qualifying for the 400-meter relay at the Beijing Olympics.
At the time, her personal best time in the 100-meter sprint was 11.60 seconds, but she quickly improved to 11.36 seconds.
Fukushima participated in the Japanese national championships in June and the Nambu Memorial Track and Field Meet in July, aiming for the Olympic qualifying standard of 11.32 seconds. But she failed to reach that record.
“I thought my chances were gone,” she says.
But as she was preparing to leave the stadium, an official from the Japan Association of Athletics Federations told her she was selected to represent Japan at the Beijing Olympics. Fukushima said she was not sure that she deserved to be selected.
At the Beijing Olympics, Fukushima lost in the first round of preliminary races.
“I couldn’t run at my usual pace at all. It all ended so quickly,” she says, looking back.
But in 2009 and again in 2010, she broke the Japanese record. Her 100-meter record is 11.21 seconds.
Fukushima’s results stimulated her Japanese rivals, who also ended up improving their times. Suddenly, the 400-meter women’s relay became a more promising event for Japanese. The Japan Association of Athletics Federations’ made the right decision by sending Fukushima to the Beijing Olympics.
In November’s Asian Games in Guangzhuo, Fukushima won golds in the 100- and 200-meter sprints.
This year, Japan’s female sprint team went to a summer training camp in Europe for the first time. At a track meet in Switzerland, Fukushima beat Jamaica’s Kerron Stewart, who won the silver medal at last year’s world championships, in the 100-meter dash.
Japanese sprinters often have difficulty performing their best at overseas track meets. But Fukushima says, “The thought (that you’re inferior) itself can hurt your performance. Regardless of whether they’re Japanese or non-Japanese, all of our opponents are human.”
Asked about her goals at the London Olympics, Fukushima says, “I would like to run as many races as possible” in the individual events, refraining from revealing any specific goals.
But concerning the 400-meter relay, she gave specifics, which is unusual for her. “There is no way to predict what will happen, but I hope we can make it to the finals.”