In a meet in which she keeps achieving a number of firsts for Japan, Nozomi Tanaka continued her historic run at the Tokyo Olympics by advancing to the final of the women's 1,500 meters.
Tanaka, the first-ever Japanese woman to compete in the event at an Olympics, finished fifth in her semifinal heat on Wednesday at National Stadium, while rewriting her own national record in the process by becoming the first Japanese to break the four-minute barrier.
"The Olympics is a stage of dreams," said Tanaka, who clocked 3 minutes 59.19 seconds to shave 3.14 seconds off from her previous record. "I could never imagine this result. I'm like, 'Am I really running in the final the day after tomorrow?'"
In her race, Tanaka maintained a keen awareness of position, and calmly moved to the front group on the second lap as she calmly read the flow of the race.
"In the preliminary round, the runners in the other heats tended to take it easy on the second lap," Tanaka said. "It's tougher, but I thought I shouldn't give the runners [in my race] a chance to rest there."
She maintained a fast pace at the head of the pack. Her tactic worked successfully, and she was able to hold off a number of runners trying to catch up on the last lap and finish in the top six places that automatically qualify for the final.
It was remarkable effort to set the pace in a middle-distance race, in which Japan has long lagged far behind the rest of the world.
Tanaka is confident when it comes to games of who will crack first. This stems from her diligent training under her coach and father that often left her in tears. This spring, she set a punishing schedule in which she competed in meets 10 weeks in a row -- without reducing her training menu.
"While I argue with my father, I got through difficult times," the 21-year-old said after Wednesday's race. "Because of the long path I took to get here, I was able to run like I did today."
One noticeable difference at the Olympics is that the normally stoic Tanaka seems to be smiling a lot.
"It's the first and last time I can be appearing on such a stage for the first time," Tanaka said. "Even if make it to the next Olympics, I won't run with the same feeling as I have now. I don't know when I can feel the same way again, so I want to enjoy this moment."
In the final, Tanaka will face the likes of the Netherlands' Sifan Hassan, who is aiming for a historic triple of middle- and long-distance golds.
"I don't know if it will happen, but it would be fun to have last 400 meters be like, 'On your marks, set, go.'"
She created her own race, shook the opposition and made the final. And the strategist in Tanaka has come to the forefront.
In other actions, Shunsuke Izumiya missed out a place in the men's 110-meter hurdles semifinals by 0.03 seconds when he finished 10th overall in 13.35 seconds. Taio Kanai also failed to advance after clipping a hurdle and falling during his heat.
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