Testing the waters - Koji Murofushi at the national championships in Osaka (© Kazutaka Eguchi/Agence SHOT)
Japan’s Olympic Hammer Throw champion Koji Murofushi sends us his latest diary, especially interesting given that next month he will try to capture the gold medal at the 11th IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Osaka, Japan.
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How are you everyone?
The weather here in Japan is a little uncomfortable, for we are in the middle of a rainy season now*.
Currently we have periods of rain and humidity is very high here in Japan. The Japanese national championships were held from June 29 to July 1 in Nagai stadium, the venue of the upcoming World Championships in Athletics.
For many of us, it was a good opportunity to compete and check out the condition of the venue of the championships.
My event, the Hammer Throw was held on June 30. The competition took nearly three hours, and because it was my first competition of the season, to be honest I was bit tired.
I threw 79.24m, which I think was a reasonable start of the season. I am now determined to train hard so I can meet the expectation of my fans.
The Kids’ Athletics sponsored by the JAAF was held on the morning of the final day of the championships.
Along with the top athletes in Japan, Carl Lewis joined us from the US. Both kids and their parents participated in the events, and Lewis was actively talking with the participants.
He seemed to be enjoying the opportunities. It was a wonderful event, for in these days it is rare for both parents and children to be involved in the same event.
Koji
NOTE: *at the beginning of July
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