The World Track Championships, held in Barerup, Copenhagen, Denmark from October 16 to October 20, produced Japan’s best ever result. In the team sprint on the first day, the team of Yoshitaku Nagasako, Kaiya Ota, and Yuta Ohara took third place. On the second day, Kento Yamazaki won the men’s keirin and Kazushige Kuboki won the men’s scrimmage, taking two Arcand shells. On the third day, Mizuna Sato took third place in the women’s sprint, and on the fifth and final day, Mizuna Sato won the women’s keirin, and Kaiya Ota took third place in the men’s sprint. He achieved the best results in Japanese cycling history, winning gold medals with Arcencier in three events and bronze medals in three events.
At the start of the press conference held at Haneda Airport, Koichi Nakano, Director of Athlete Development of the Japan Cycling Federation, said, “As you know, a lot happened at the Olympics in Paris, and as so I think we were able to get revenge. We will continue to do that in the future.” I want to strengthen my players to be able.”
Unfortunately, Sprint Team member Yoshitaku Nagasako could not attend the press conference, but the five winners expressed their happiness.
Keirin winner Kento Yamazaki
“I hope this will have a positive impact on both tournaments and on keirin.”
I couldn’t participate in the Paris Olympics because I was a reserve, but I worked with the national team until just before the Olympics, and at the Olympics I watched videos of the everyone running, and I was able to train with Yudai Nitta of the Tokyo Olympics and other young athletes I have been preparing for the World Championships and getting encouragement from others .
I was nervous and stiff, and I felt like I barely made it through the preliminaries, so I didn’t expect to win a medal, but I focused on each race ahead of me. I ran thinking in the end that I had no choice but to calmly anticipate the developments, trust my coach’s advice, deal with the moment in front of me, and do my best. I am honored to think that I have come even a little closer to the feat of Koichi Nakano, who won 10 consecutive sprint championships. It’s not far off yet though.
I believe that I was able to win this time because the members besides myself were strong and pulled me together, and thanks to their support and encouragement, I was able to achieve a one-in-a-thousand result achievement I don’t think I deserve to be number one in the world yet, and I have to continue training hard. It has been said that cycling and cycling racing should be considered separately, but I hope this will have a positive effect on both and will bring joy.
Scratch Kazushige Kuboki won
“It was only after I reached the goal that I realized I had won.”
Yamazaki, who was in the same room as me during the event, won the race right before the race, and I was so happy that I didn’t care about my own race. I think Yamazaki’s ability to create flow and the feeling of not being able to win the bronze medal in the team pursuit had an impact on my performance. (Team Pursuit went on to 3rd in a match decider, but finished 4th due to a DNF)
I was on my own at the end, but I had gone on my own at the Olympics and the Nations Cup, so I knew if I kept up this pace I would be able to run away. I think that experience helped me this time. It wasn’t until I reached the goal that I realized I had won. I knew I was ahead, but I saw myself on the television at the center and I thought, “Did we win? ‘I couldn’t be sure.
World class speed and stamina are still required, so over the next four years, I would like to focus on working every day even more than the last four years, and bridging the gap with the world. This is my first medal in a middle distance event, but I am not only happy with myself, but I also believe that I have made a positive impact on future athletes and young distance athletes.
Keirin/Sprint winner 3rd place Mizuna Sato
“This victory is a milestone.”
Everyone was happy when Yamazaki won the keirin race, and I felt like the flow had come, and I wanted to do my best. So I won the bronze medal in the sprint, and I really wanted to wear the Arcand Shell after all, so I was very happy that I managed to win it on the fourth attempt i have After winning the silver medal at my first World Championships, I was determined to compete the following year, but I wasn’t as strong as I should have been, and the year after that I was in vain, so this time I concentrated on focusing on him. on every race and getting results.
While I was happy to win the bronze medal in the sprint, I also felt that I was not good in the keirin because I felt that results were expected from me, but with Yamazaki’s strength, I was able to stay positive and think I was too. could win. Although the qualifying round ended, I was able to give my best performance in the finals.
I feel better mentally and physically if I do a lot of intense training before the actual event, but I was nervous because I didn’t have time for that after the Paris Olympics. But I couldn’t repay the people who supported me at the Olympics, so I covered it up with the feeling that I wanted to do it at the World Championships.
I am happy with the result, but I think of this victory as a point over. I feel I still have a lot to offer, so I want to take this result to heart and move on to the next step.
3rd place in team sprint, 3rd place in sprint Kaiya Ota
“Winning the team sprint medal gave me a satisfaction that I don’t have in individual events.”
I didn’t win a medal at the Olympics in Paris, so I was always thinking about how I could thank everyone. Of course I want to achieve results in bike racing, but I also wanted to win another medal in the competitive world, and I was very encouraged to see Yamazaki, Kuboki, and Sato to be are number one in the world at night. Being able to advance to the sprint event in third place gave me confidence that I could medal as well. I realized again that there is a joy in getting a medal in a team sprint that is not found in individual events.
Because I didn’t get any results at the Olympics, it was difficult for me to ride a bike for a while, and even though I ran the Keirin All-Star race and went back to Izu to practice , I kept days when I thought. cycling was too hard and days when I thought it was fun I did. However, I was able to reach the world championships with the support of my coaches and teammates. I was hoping to beat Harry Lovereisen (Netherlands), who won the sprint race, but there was still a gap in our strength. I think the value of this bronze medal will be as we relate this to next year and beyond.
Yuta Ohara’s 3rd place team sprint
“Next time, I want to win a medal in the individual event.”
I think I was able to win this bronze medal with the help of Ota and Nagasako. In the individual event, I made it to the top eight, but didn’t get a medal. It was the first day of the team sprint, so everyone won a lot of medals in the individual events and it was a blur, so next time I would like to do my best to medal to win in the individual events as well. Fortunately, there are three world champions on the same Japanese team, so we aim to catch them and pass them first.
There was a two-year selection period for the Olympics in Paris, and the pressure was affecting my body and I wasn’t feeling well. Before the World Championships, I got shingles, but while I was taking care of it, I was able to get to the World Championships with the support of the team staff, coaches, and teammates. I think I got a good start next year, and I think I will be able to get a medal, so I will be able to win again.
text: Satoru Kato
photo: Satoru Kato, JCF, UCI
2024-10-22 10:30:00
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