Japanese teen sprint sensation Shimizu Sorato wants it all. We’ll soon find out if he’s ready.
“I hope I’ll be picked for the relay at the (World Athletics Championships) which is my immediate goal so I am preparing for it,” Shimizu told reporters on Tuesday (19 August) after open practice at Seiryo High School in his native Ishikawa Prefecture.
“I’m 16 now and next year when I’m 17 I hope to run a sub-10. After that, three years down the road when I’m 19, 20, I want to compete at the Los Angeles Olympics.
“I want to run a 9 while I’m still in high school so for now, that’s what I’m working towards.”
The 16-year-old Shimizu took the athletics community by storm last month, when he set a new under-18 world record in the 100m with a 10-flat and shot to stardom overnight.
While track fans would love nothing more than to see Shimizu run in the 100m at the world championships in Tokyo next month, that is unlikely to happen with Kiryu Yoshihide, Mori Yuhi and Abdul Hakim Sani Brown having all but sewn up the three spots.
With Japan’s fifth fastest time ever and his upside, Shimizu could conceivably make the 4x100m relay team.
He did not make the 100m final in June at the Japan Athletics Championships, which served as the trials for worlds, and it would be a lot on the slender shoulders of a 1.64m teenager to compete in an incredibly high-profile event like the 4x100m.
Yet one thing is certain: Shimizu is generating the type of excitement the country hasn’t seen in the sport in quite sometime.
“People found out about me. I’m aware there are more people watching me now. I feel the support in that regard,” he said.
“It’s nice to have people rooting for you. I really don’t feel much pressure.”