Track and Field: The Challenge of a Japanese Middle-Distance Runner

In March, I had a chance to interview Masato Yokota, a 24-year-old athlete, who is a member of The Japanese National Track and Field Team. Yokota holds the Japan record in the Men’s 800m, and happens to be one of the most famous middle-distance runners in Japan.

He is currently employed and supported by a Japanese company, Fujitsu, which is a leading provider of IT products and services for the global marketplace including hardware, software, networking, business solutions and more. Although he is not expected to do any deskwork as other employees do, his mission is simply to train hard and to success in the official competitions held throughout every year.

Yokota came to Los Angeles for training in January this year and stayed for approximately three months. “I came to train in Los Angeles because my good rival, Prince Mumba, invited me to train with him. He is training at The Santa Monica Track Club (SMTC) for a few years, so I came here to join.” said Yokota. “I thought this was a great opportunity because I am now the fastest runner in Japan’s 800m and there is no one that could run faster than me, which is not good for my practicing. Running with people who are faster than me is a much better way to practice and maintain my motivation.”

There was also another reason he flew all the way to California. “Japan is too cold to run and train hard in the winter. In order to be chosen as a candidate for the upcoming London Olympic, I still need to hit the prerequisite time that has been regulated by the Olympic Committee, so I need to keep training hard.” He said there was no way he could do that staying in Japan.

Yokota enjoyed training in SoCal and he wishes to come back soon. “If I win my seat as a candidate for London, I will come back and train here until the Olympics start in the summer. This was my first time to train outside of Japan, but I realized that there are many rivals and inspiring athletes here in the U.S. Of course, the level is much higher than Japan and the coach and the team are great as well. Even after the Olympics, I plan to officially move to SoCal because the weather is perfect throughout the year and the life rhythm here is more slower and relaxing than in Japan which is absolutely good for my training.”

However, in the meanwhile, Yokota's top priority is to be chosen as a candidate for the Olympics, which start July 23. “I hope I will be able to run in London! Fingers crossed!”