Yoshihide Kiryu Breaks 10 Seconds to Set Japanese 100-Meter Record

By Adam Kopet

In 2016, Japan won the silver medal in the men's 4x100-meter relay without a single runner who had broken 10 seconds in the 100-meter dash.

That changed Saturday when Yoshihide Kiryu, a member of the 2016 relay squad, ran a wind-legal 9.98 at a meet Saturday in Fukuroi, Japan.

The 21-year-old Toyo University student captured a bronze medal in the 100 at the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships, running 10.34.

Kiryu broke Koji Ito's 1998 record of 10.00. According to a feature article from the Asahi Shimbun, Kiryu now holds two of the top three Japanese 100-meter times, including a 10.01 clocking when he was a third-year high school student.