36 days left until the Paris Olympics. The Olympic representatives will be decided at the Japan Championships next week. A sprinter who is attracting attention locally, started running because of a man who was called the fastest runner in human history. We will take a closer look at the real face of the Paris Olympics representative candidate who balances work and athletics. Just before 9am. An elite graduate of Nagoya University Graduate School goes to work in a suit. “I’m Hongo from Onotec.” A 25-year-old in his second year of working life. In fact, he is a candidate for the Paris Olympics in the star 100m of athletics. This is Hongo Taiki from Nagoya City. Two years ago. He broke 10.12 seconds in the 100m, suddenly attracted attention, and advanced to the finals at last year’s Japan Championships. He won 5th place. “There is no sport that can entertain people in 10 seconds, so I think that’s what makes it attractive” (Hongo Taiki) A sprinter born and raised in Nagoya with a Ghanaian father and a Japanese mother.What is interesting is his name, Taiki. “His father is Ghanaian. It means ‘crown’ in Ghanaian,” says Hongo. It all started with being “the fastest runner in the world.” Hongo is a dark horse for the Olympic team. In fact, he started competing in high school. “I always wanted to do athletics, but I didn’t have the environment to do it.” (Hongo) Q. What club were you in in middle school? “I was in the soft tennis club. People say that’s surprising.” (Hongo) What made him want to be an athlete? It was when he was in elementary school and saw the fastest runner in the world on TV. “There was a star in the athletics world called Bolt, and we were really excited.” (Hongo) In his second year of middle school, he wrote a report that collected news from the summer vacation. “I wrote, ‘Bolt is amazing! He’s so cool!'” (Hongo) Inside, there were a bunch of articles about Usain Bolt, who won consecutive gold medals at the London Olympics. Even though he was in the soft tennis club, he was researching athletics. “I’ve done a lot of research. There are things in it that are still relevant today. The maximum speed and stride length during a race are related to the time. They’re not wrong.” (Hongo) Spreading the charm of athletics on YouTube After graduating, he went on to Zuiryo High School, which has an athletics club. He finally decided to pursue athletics, and competed in the Inter-High School Championships after just one year. Hongo loves athletics. For the past two years, he has been focusing on spreading the charm of athletics on YouTube. He edits and posts his own videos. “I hope that people will get to know me and support me a little, learn about athletics, and become fans of athletics.” (Hongo) What Hongo, who balances athletics with work, is now looking towards… A working sprinter who continues to compete while working for an electrical construction company in his hometown of Nagoya. “If you only do athletics, you won’t grow as a person or gain the skills to be a member of society. I want to grow properly as a member of society.” (Hongo) On this day, he was giving a presentation for the company to secure employees. Q. Are you good at speaking? “I don’t think I’m good at it,” said Hongo. “You don’t get nervous that much, do you? Maybe it’s because I’m used to athletics,” said his boss at work. “I don’t get nervous when it comes to athletics. I’m good at talking,” said Hongo. Hongo, who balances athletics with his work, is now looking towards the Japan Championships, where a place in the Paris Olympics will be determined. He is eager to take on the dream stage where his idol, Bolt, won the title. “I’m aiming to break the nine-second standard, which is required to compete in the Olympics, so I have a chance of winning, so I’ll do my best,” said Hongo. (From the “Local Sports!” segment of Me-Tele’s “Dodeska+,” broadcast on June 20th)
JP2021.COM - Tokyo Olympics 2020.