＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:https://skawa68.com/
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
1. The men’s 100m race is the highlight of track and field events
(1) Japan’s men’s short distance athletes are all strong medal candidates.
The highlight of the track and field events is, after all, the short distance “100m race. In Japan, Yoshihide Kiryu, Asuka Cambridge, Ryota Yamagata, and Shuhei Tada are strong medal candidates for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and as members of the 4x100m relay, we are very much looking forward to seeing them.
I think the members of the Japanese 4x100m relay team (Shota Iizuka, Ryota Yamagata, Yoshihide Kiryu, and Asuka Cambridge) that won the silver medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics were the best ever for Japan. With such high-level sprinters on the team, expectations for a medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics are inevitably rising.
(2) “Black Bullet, Bob Hayes” at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics
The most memorable man in the men’s 100m race was the American “Black Bullet” Bob Hayes, who won the gold medal at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics in 10.06 seconds. The Japanese record was 10.6 seconds set by Hideo Iijima, who lost in the semifinals.
(3) Ben Johnson for doping violations
Later, Ben Johnson of Canada, described as a “rocket start” and “a mass of muscle,” won the 1987 World Championships, defeating Carl Lewis in an astounding world record time of 9.83 seconds. However, this record was later erased after a doping violation(「ドーピング違反」) was discovered.
The 9.79 seconds at the 1988 Seoul Olympics was likewise rescinded. However, this record was considered a “phantom record” until 2002, when Tim Montgomery set a 9.78 in 2002. The Guinness Book of Records listed it with the proviso that it was “the fastest record ever reached by mankind, albeit with the help of drugs. Drug suspicions were pointed out as his results rose rapidly and he began to compete with Carl Lewis. Indeed, he had an unusually muscular body like a bodybuilder and his bloodshot eyes were impressive!
2. Florence Joyner, “Women’s 100m race” with drug allegations.
The American Florence Joyner, who impressed me with her “light, smiling finish” in the women’s 100-meter race. While other athletes were struggling to reach the finish line…
The women’s world record is still 10.49 seconds (without a tailwind), set by Florence Joyner on July 16, 1988.
However, it is said that at the time of this race, the “anemometer” was out of order, so it did not become a “tailwind reference record. She also rapidly improved her record in 1988 after her marriage, but died suddenly of a heart attack at the young age of 38.
Even before her death, there were drug allegations that she was using steroids and other drugs. Although her world record has not been erased on the grounds that there was no doping violation, the accuracy of doping tests at that time was very low compared to today. The year she retired, a “notice” was given that doping tests would be strengthened starting the following year, and they were in fact strengthened the following year. The fact that the record has not been broken for the next 30 years is undeniably unnatural compared to the fact that men’s world records have been broken one after another.
3. the record of “Men’s 100m run” in the first modern Olympic Games is slower than the current masters’ record
By the way, the winner of the “Men’s 100m Run” at the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 was Thomas Burke of the United States with a record of 12.0 seconds. This record is slower than the current “Masters record for over 60 years old (60-64 years old)” of 11.70 seconds.
4. endless speed competition
How far can human short-distance running records go as a result of “natural practice without the aid of drugs?
The current world record is 9.58 seconds, set by Usain Bolt of Jamaica on August 16, 2009. The Japanese record is 9.98 seconds, set by Yoshihide Kiryu on September 9, 2017.
5. Doping does more harm than good
Even if athletes seeks new records by using drugs, all they will gain from it is the stigma of having their record erased for a doping violation and the damage to their body caused by the side effects of the drugs; there is nothing good to be gained from it.
No matter how much we make shoes ultra-lightweight and make it possible to run with a “barefoot-like” feeling, there seems to be a “limit” unless someone with superhumanly superior physical ability appears.
There was once a Japanese female short-distance runner who set the then world records in the 100m, 200m, and long jump. That person was Kinue Hitomi (1907-1931). She was an all-around athlete and entered all the women’s individual events (100m, 800m, discus throw, and high jump) at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, winning a silver medal in the 800m and becoming the first Japanese female Olympic medalist.
However, although she continued to set world records, she died at the young age of 24, probably due to an overcrowded race schedule and severe pressure.
6. state-sponsored doping violations by Russia and the sophisticated and malicious cover-up of such violations
By the way, what concerns me about the “drug allegations” and “doping violations” as we have just seen is the revelation in 2015 of “state-sponsored doping violations by Russia and a sophisticated and malicious cover-up”.
Drug suspicions” and ‘doping violations’ may have an aspect of ‘thirst for personal records,’ but they also seem to have a frightening aspect of ‘ambition of a hegemonic nation’ that ‘chooses no means to win’ in order to ‘increase the number of gold medals won to enhance national prestige’ not only in the world of military power, economic power, and scientific technology, but in the world of sports as well. It seems to be a fact that there is also a frightening aspect of “hegemony.
After all, going too far is not a good thing. I am sure that all of you short-distance track and field athletes are training hard for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but please do your best and do not overexert yourself.
7. Iron injections for high school relay runners are very harmful to the body and must be stopped.
As a side note, there was recently shocking news that male and female athletes of a strong school in the long-distance track and field “high school relay race” had received “iron injections” to increase their endurance.
Iron injections” are not considered ‘doping’ but are originally used to treat severe anemia and have the side effect of causing liver dysfunction.
The athletes were getting the injections because they “could run 20 to 30 seconds faster at 3,000 meters,” and because they “thought it was some kind of nutritional supplement” or “knew it was bad for them, but didn’t want them to be unable to run.” The school’s doctor was also giving the injections at the request of the coach.
In April 2016, the Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF) warned against the use of “iron injections” because “iron accumulates in the internal organs and is harmful to the body,” but some strong high school ekiden schools were still using them after this warning.
One athlete received frequent “iron injections” in high school to improve his record, but after entering college, he was told in a blood test that his “iron levels were abnormally high. After entering college, he stopped using “iron injections,” but due to some internal organ disease, his current times are far below his best high school records.
This is “record-setting supremacy” and “championship supremacy,” and while the coach may take credit for this, it must be said that this is an outrageous act of “disregard for the health of the athletes.
From now on, strict checks similar to those for doping must be conducted, and the awareness of those involved must be reformed. The Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF) is planning to require athletes to report the results of blood tests from next year’s competitions.
With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics just around the corner, this was news that left us feeling uneasy.
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