New Japanese JR record for 100m... 10.01 seconds!

I still think he looks older than 17, I thought his lean was pretty decent, and I never discount the possibility of doping, in anyone, in any culture, because there are always outliers, even in Japan.

I mean, come on--a SOLID 10.01, with almost no wind, from a really short 17-year-old guy?

Give me a break, something strains credibility, be it his age, doping status, race timing, etc.

Because he is right in that Japanese sweet spot, my first guess is that he is older than 17, followed closely by timing errors and doping.

And about Japanese not doping, give me a break. The same argument could be made for all christians who get caught doping and lying about it, even though "Thou shalt not bear false witness."

Don't underestimate the rivalry between Japan and China. It is more than that, it is hatred, pure and simple. Don't think that Japanese sprinting doesn't see Bingtian Su and Chinese sprinting as a serious threat.

You know what? They care more about what China is doing in sprinting, than they care about what the entire ROW is doing. They don't mind getting beaten by Jamaicans because, well, they are black. As far as white guys go, the only really faster ones have been few and far between, you can count them on one hand, if there even are any, going by adjusted times.

But there is NO WAY they would tolerate losing to a Chinese, if they could at all help it. I'm not saying that would inevitably lead to doping, but it could very well lead to superior training, earlier development, better selection, and all the other things it takes to produce excellence.

Japan has a good history in the sprints, as they do in the marathon, and those traditions continue. Why was there no Japanese response to the Chinese swimmers? No tradition. Ma's army? No tradition, although I could be wrong about that.

It could be a similar situation to womens' figure skating, in which Japan has a long and storied history, and the emergence of Kim Yu-Na, from South Korea. The Japanese absolutely CAN'T STAND the fact that she is better than any Japanese skater, and are making absolutely every effort to best her...although she remains on top.

Don't underestimate the importance of regional ethnic rivalries to the Japanese.

So what has Su been up to? And when do Korean sprinters come on line?

as a sprinter - you really think height helps you run faster? Get a clue

So that is an unadjusted world lead for Kiryu at the moment.

By adjusted times, he is back a bit.

Notice that Zhang for China just went 10.04 (+1.6) for third in the world unadjusted, beating Su at 10.23 (+1.6), Chen at 10.29 (+1.6), and Xie at 10.31 (+1.6)

IF Chinese results are to be believed. That 10.04 (+1.6) was done 2 days before Kiryu's 10.01 (+0.9)

As things shape up throughout the season, the China vs Japan relay is shaping up to be a great battle. You have to give the edge to Japan, given their history and the fact that their runners are currently faster--but China is coming for them. Japan is their target; anything past Japan is another game entirely.

I really think he looks like a 17 year old. Maybe a bit developed but hell look at Webb in high school.

Also if you look at the Youth record from last year he looks considerably younger (IMO) and even a little doughy. I think he just went through a big growth spurt

Height does help, as the best sprinters are usually 5'9-6'2. Some smaller guys have done very well, Frater, Carter, Rodgers, and some taller guys have done very well, Christie, Lemaitre, Bolt. But it helps to be taller than 5'7". 5'7" is too short to be a consistent world beater in today's sprints.

Japs don't hate Chinese as much as Chinese hate Japs. But they both don't like each other. You can bet that this means more to the Chinese than it means to the Japanese.

Should be very interesting to watch.

I can live with facts that do not seem to be too inconsistent.

For instance, I could live with the suggestion that he is 17 years old--but then I couldn't live with him having gone 10.01 (+0.9) for a world lead at the end of April.

Something's fishy in Japan, and it's not the sushi.

OTOH, if this was all legit, it is truly amazing.

We will see.

Let's browse for some 17y/o American football kids that look like John Deer equipment. Why would their age be correct, and a tiny Japanese kid's not?

They're so much more advanced in technology than the rest of the world, such a lie would be uncovered in no-time via social media, wouldn't it?

Japan has produced a lot of fast junior sprinters with good mechanics and turnover, who reached 10.1 in their early 20s, but got stuck their. There is a point where your biggest gain simply comes form simply getting more physically mature. With that said, when you run nearly 10 flat at age 18, barring injury, you are going to be pretty good.

Skater--

Most probably, but things happen, even there, especially in some backwaters. I don't know where exactly he was born.

But something here is strange. IDK, I can't put my finger on it.

Last year the guy ran 10.19 (+0.5) on Nov 3, and now he improves to 10.01 (+0.9)

He was already smoking at 10.19!

WTF? At SEVENTEEN?

TrackCoach--

Absolutely agreed, they reached 10.1 in their early 20's.

NOT 10.0 WHEN THEY WERE 17!!! 17 years, 4 months, 14 days, to be exact.

This would have been a sub-10 with a bit more wind...AT 17!

Japanese sprinters have always been good, but not that good, and not that early. NOBODY has been.

Look, what exactly do we know about this guy, and about this meet in particular?

I personally will wait for the dust to settle, and to find out more.

Sprintgeezer wrote:

Skater--

Most probably, but things happen, even there, especially in some backwaters. I don't know where exactly he was born.

But something here is strange. IDK, I can't put my finger on it.

Last year the guy ran 10.19 (+0.5) on Nov 3, and now he improves to 10.01 (+0.9)

He was already smoking at 10.19!

WTF? At SEVENTEEN?

Japanese birth records are about as good as the U.S., chances are he is the age stated. Btw, this is kids isn't just fast, he looks good too, I did not see a flaw in his race. I is race that you see such a young athlete run so clean.

To reiterate it looks like he's had a growth spurt since the 10.19 so the ju.p doesn't seem strange to me

The AHSR is 10.01 as well.

Anyone know what the white line he's crossing at 5.0s is?

Very interesting! Saw the 10.19 posted here the other week recently and thought 'Wow, this guy is fast!'

I'm interested in how his feet almost seem to accelerate from coming off the floor to meeting the hamstrings, in the slow-mo? Is his running all turnover based? He looks muscularly strong to me, and that he could do with a drive phase maybe as suggested for a quicker 0-20. I imagine my sprinting looked somewhat like this but at 12/24 and less strength/speed?

I wonder if this is his peak or if he can continue to improve. Like you Sprintgeezer, I am interested to see how much Gemili can improve, he was a slip-start away from the 2012 OG Final and a PB around 10.00. Gemili looked raw last year, but this kid looks polished once he's up and running.

Has any of the 10.00 clockings Ito etc. actually been 9.99x rounded up? I think we should probably be moving to 3 digits now for official record purposes..

(The cynic in me would suggest that with the WCs being in Moscow that China and other countries are doping up in preparation for an easier time come competition! But in reality I hope this is just the Bolt effect in motion.. Has there ever been doping found in Japanese athletes? I wonder if there are any cleaner countries as a whole? Interesting to see which is the cleanest!) For lols - Imagine a race of all the ethnicities, Bolt, Lemaitre, Yoshihide, etc. Haha. I wonder what someone like Jonah Lomu would have clocked in his prime.. I wonder if there are really 10.0 or 9.9 talents out there that are doing something other than running (Gemili was a semi-pro footballer until last year)

All this 'not trusting' times doesn't make much sense. The timing systems used are very well understood and not prone to failure. Tracks are built to standard specification in terms of size and energy return. Wind gauges are calibrated and correct. At a meet run in any first-world country, these factors are all non-issues. Japan is probably the MOST reliable place to run a track meet in the world.

Also - in Japan it is virtually impossible to fake age. I'd be very surprised.

The only possibility for irregularity:

1)anticipating the gun - but I think they used pressure-sensitive blocks.

2) drugs - but in Japan this is hard to imagine.

He's probably just extremely good.

ventolin^3 wrote:

morally, the wjr shoud be at worst 9.95 & i woudn't consider any junior "better" until they run faster than that "basic"

WR aren't a moral item and nobody cares who you consider better.

The Champ wrote:

All this 'not trusting' times doesn't make much sense.

This isn't the first time they have done this. Last year when Marvin Bracy broke the HSR for the indoor 55 they had a whole discussion about how he had false started based on a youtube video.

Ryota Yamagata was second in the final with a 10.04 (+2.7)

Gonna have a mean relay