Middle-distance runner Nozomi Tanaka, who rewrote her own national record in Monday's preliminary race for the women's 1,500 meters, finished eighth in Saturday's final in Tokyo.
Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands, considered to be the favorite, took the lead in the race, increasing the pace after 800 meters. Even so, Tanaka was able to hold on to around fifth place and remained in the lead group for one more lap, proving that Japanese runners can compete in middle-distance races as well.
Entering the last lap, however, Tanaka fell behind the lead group. Since she has been training with a strategy of "coming out ahead at the most difficult point," this was when she poured it on. Getting into her stride and not giving up, Tanaka became the first Japanese to finish as high as eighth in 1,500 meters.
Tanaka once said the national championships she took part in as a junior high school student was the best race in her athletic career because she used up all her energy until she collapsed after the race. In the Olympics, once again, she surprised her fans and herself by running as hard as she could.
"I was able to overturn what I long believed as common sense. In the next race, I want to improve my time even more so that I can stay in the race to compete for the title," she said with a beaming smile as she gained another best race to be added to her career.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
