People : An Olympic athlete for the 100m and 4×100 m relay in Athens 2004!!
Mr. Hiroyasu Tsuchie

Mr. Hiroyasu Tsuchie Born in 1974, he graduated from Izumo High School in Shimane Prefecture. When he was a senior at the School of Human Sciences, he participated in the Atlanta Olympics. In 1997, he started to work at Fujitsu and also entered the Graduate School of Human Sciences at Waseda. Now he is a PhD student under the supervision of Professor Tetsuo Fukunaga, and specializes in biomechanics. In 1997, he attended a coach training session in Sydney sent by the JOC and is now an assistant coach of the track and field club. He has exceeded his own record (10'21'') at the Japan championship and also exceeded the Olympic standard record A.

Mr. Tsuchie exceeded his own record though he is 30 years old. It surprised many people, but he calmly says, “Athletic ability is one thing, and showing one's best in the field is another. Today, there are a lot of sportsmen who improve their own records even after the age of 25 though it is said that the peak of physical strength is 25.” Because he is an experienced athlete, it sounds very reasonable when he says, “Now is my best time.”

Everyone has probably wondered about how to run fast. Mr. Tsuchie has pursued this question with both theory and practice. “It takes about 50 steps to run 100 meters, so a miss of one step means a two percent loss. A race is finished in a moment, but there are numerous subdivided strategies for each single moment. Athletes need the kind of self-possession which enables us to see ourselves objectively during a race.” He studies such scientific theories as dynamics, and verifies them in the field. “A theory is useless unless the body instinctually recognizes it. My coach's advice about my senses is important. But at the same time, because my senses are subjective and unreliable, it is also important to correct the uncertainties of my senses by making use of theories. Keeping the balance is difficult for me.” Mr. Tsuchie is good at controlling these two elements. He has no hesitation as he talks about ‘running' with a strong look of confidence.

His father, who had been also a member of the track and field club, took his son out to the field when he was 8 years old. He laughs and talks about his father. “He was like ‘Hoshi Ittetsu’ (a father in a comic story, who gave his son extremely hard baseball training), but what my father gave me was not a bat but a spiked shoes!” However, he has never felt that he doesn't like sports. “I can't imagine my life without them. Through them, I met various people and my world has much developed.”

“For athletes, the Olympic games are one of the biggest events. Athens might be my last big stage. I feel unusual pressure, but I want to show the fruit of my efforts. I have kept training although I could not get into the Sydney Olympic games when I was 26. I will exceed my best record in the100m race, and qualify for the semi-finals (best 16). I am aiming at a medal in the relay race." After the interview, he vigorously shook this reporter's hand. On 21 August, we'll all be waiting for the crack of the starting gun for the 100m preliminary race.