Today's victory of two names, unknown to most (Hayato Katsuki and Yuki Ito), in the 50km today in Takahata, Japan, has made us reflect on the growth in recent years of the Rising Sun Country on the distance.
2012, the year of the London Olympic Games, can be considered the year that the 50km investment began to produce fruit, though not in terms of medals.
London was mean on Japan, who, amongst other things, suffered the disqualification of their best performer, Yuki Yamazaki, who won at Wajima (JPN) in 3:41:47 and was thus eighth in the world rankings of the year.
Behind him in the world rankings ended the other two leading athletes in 50km in Japan: Koichiro Morioka arriving seventh in London in 3:43:14 finished 10th in the 2017 World List and Takayuki Tanii, second in Wajima in 3:43:56 finished 13th in the same rank (in London he did not finish the race).
In 2013 in Moscow, Takayuki Tanii arrived 9th in 3:44:26, almost a photocopy of Wajima's time (3:44:25), putting him in the 12th place in the world list. If we considered the first two performances only Yohann Diniz (FRA), Mikhail Ryzhov (RUS), Ihor Hlavan (UKR) and Ivan Noskov (RUS) have done better than him.
Hirooki Arai, who had replaced Yuki Yamazaki with his 11th place in Moscow (3:45:56), was 13th in the world list of the year.
Koichiro Morioka (23rd in Moscow in 3:53:54) by 2nd place in Wajima of that year (3:50:51) was 27th in the world list of the year.
2014 Japan was not present in the 50km to Taicang World Cup which took place just 15 days after their 50km Wajima Championship, which we have repeatedly said, is a must for their federation.
However, the Japanese obtained so many excellent results at the Asian Games in Incheon (KOR) with Takayuki Tanii's victory (3:40:19), which represented the 5th world performance of the year. But Tanii, on the strength of his victory at Wajima on Apr. 20, 2014 (3:41:32), on two performances per year, was behind only to Mikhail Ryzhov (RUS) and Ivan Noskov (RUS).
After Tanii in the 2014 world list, sixth placed Hirooki Arai obtained in Takahata (3:40:34).
In the top 20 positions of the 2014 world list in 50km there was room for another two athletes in Japan: Takuya Yoshida (tenth finishing 2nd in Takahata at 3:43:02) and Yuki Yamazaki (eleventh finishing 2nd in Wajima in 3:44:23).
Impressive the Japanese growth that year with four performances in the first twenty of the world rankings were second (14:08:18) only to Russia (14:04:53).
Medals arrived in 2015.
Takayuki Tanii made the crowning achievement of his career with the bronze at Beijing World Championships (3:42:55) and third in the world list of the year.
Hirooki Arai who in Beijing came fourth (3:43:44) was fifth in the world list of the year.
Koichiro Morioka who had not taken part in the Beijing World Championships (was preferred Yuki Yamazaki who finished 34th in 4:03:54) redeemed in Takahata on Oct. 25, 2015 ended in 3:44:27, to finish 10th in the 50km of the year's world rankings.
Japan with three athletes in the first twenty (11:11:06) managed to have the best on Russia (11:13:11) who, overwhelmed by doping problems, ended its season with the Murcia European Cup.
But in the top 50 athletes of the year there were, however, two other representatives of the Rising Sun Country: Tomofumi Kanno (46th in 3:54:24) and Takuya Yoshida (47th in 3:54:55).
They had just looked at Hayato Katsuki (73rd in 3:59:03) and Shuuto Gotoh (77th in 3:59:23).
In 2016 the Olympic medal.
Hirooki Arai wins bronze in Rio de Janeiro in 3:41:24 (is fifth in the world list of 2017).
Kay Kobayashi wins in Takahata on Oct. 23, 2016 (3:42:08) and leaps to seventh place in the 2017 world list.
Takayuki Tanii with his 14th place in Rio de Janeiro (3:51:00) is just 38th in the 2017 world list.
Koichiro Morioka in Rio arrived in 27th place in 3:58:59
Japan loses world leadership over distance, but Hayato Katsuki grows positions (54th in 3:53:41 obtained in Takahata).
And then to rejoice all there is Olympic bronze !
This year (2017) is the decisive and, to say the least, impressive turning point.
Hirooki Arai (3:41:17) and Kay Kobayashi (3:41:19) with an intelligence and team race, collect silver and bronze at the London World Championships.
It is not enough. Satoshi Maruo (3:43:03) arrives fifth.
In three in the top five in the world !
Today in Takahata, Hayato Katsuki wins in 3:48:36 and climbs to 26th in the world list of 50km in 2017.
Yuki Ito, second in 3:56:34 stays up to 53th place.
The authors of this success. We personally know three important coaches: Fumio Imamura (Head Coach), Shigeyuki Shimizu and Tadahiro Kosaka.
Imamura to learn the best formative training of a good coach, runs a full year between 2005 and 2006 in race walk center of Saluzzo with Sandro Damilano who is preparing for the Olympic Games, Elisa Rigaudo and Alex Schwazer.
A young biomechanical Koji Hoga Miura is also part of the team.
Japan's judges team is leaqded by Akira Fujisaki with good colleagues.
It will be a case, but both Fumio Imamura and Tadahiro Kosaka and Akira Fujisaki were 50km race walkers.
The key to success: the variety of races in Japan in all distances, both at federal and high school level, with at least twenty athletes at the start.
Needless to say, the approach to Tokyo 2020 has already begun.
(in cover photo: Koji Hoga Miura, Fumio Imamura e Shgeyuki Shimizu)
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Akira Fujisaki (bib 83)