TOKYO – Japan men’s 4×100-meter relay runner Hiroki Yanagita said the “electrifying” atmosphere inside Tokyo’s National Stadium energized the home team Saturday as it qualified for the final of the event at the world athletics championships.
The foursome of Yanagita, Yuki Koike, Yoshihide Kiryu and Towa Uzawa clocked 38.07 seconds as they finished third in their heat behind overall-fastest qualifier Ghana and the Netherlands, securing a berth in the race that will bring down the curtain on the nine-day championships on Sunday.
Japan, which qualified fifth-fastest overall, is aiming for its first world championship podium in the event since winning back-to-back bronze medals in 2017 in London and 2019 in Doha.
The home favorite received a huge cheer as the teams were introduced for the second heat at the 68,000-capacity Tokyo Olympic venue, with the crowd roaring from the moment Koike burst out of the blocks until the 22-year-old Uzawa crossed the line just ahead of fourth-place Australia.
“It was electrifying. Now I understand what people mean when they say the cheers are like an earthquake,” two-time Asian Games individual 100-meter champion Yanagita said.
“It was an atmosphere that gave us more power than each of us had as individuals.”
While the Japanese team looked sharp with its baton changes, Kiryu said there was still room for improvement.
“I hope to be even more precise with the baton tomorrow and hand it over to Uzawa in an even better position,” said the 29-year-old Kiryu, a member of Japan’s silver medal-winning 4×100 team at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
Baton troubles knocked South Africa and Britain out of the race, while in a big upset, the Jamaican team, featuring individual men’s 100 champion Oblique Seville and silver medalist Kishane Thompson, failed to advance from the earlier heat after fumbling its final change.
Ghana is confident of producing another stunning result in Sunday’s final after topping qualification with a national record of 37.79, team member Joseph Paul Amoah said.
“If we can get gold, silver or bronze, we want to go for it. The main thing is to execute the race and the results will follow,” Amoah said.
