Shinji Takahira

Shinji Takahira
	Takahira in 2007
Personal information
Born	18 July 1984 (age 39); Asahikawa, Japan
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	60 kg (132 lb)
Sport
Country	Japan
Sport	Athletics
Event	200 metres
Medal record
Olympic Games

Shinji Takahira (高平慎士, Takahira Shinji, born 18 July 1984 in Asahikawa) is a Japanese sprinter who specialises in the 100 and 200 metres.^[1]

Takahira competed in the 200 m at the 2004 Athens Olympics and the 2005 World Championships but failed to progress beyond the heats. He took the silver medal at the 2005 Summer Universiade. He represented Japan in his home country at the 2007 Osaka World Championships and reached the quarter-finals of the 200 m event.^[2]

Takahira represented Japan at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He competed at the 4x100 metres relay together with Naoki Tsukahara, Shingo Suetsugu and Nobuharu Asahara. In their qualification heat they placed second in behind Trinidad and Tobago, but in front of the Netherlands and Brazil. Their time of 38.52 was the third fastest out of sixteen participating nations in the first round and they qualified for the final. There they sprinted to a time of 38.15 seconds, the third time after the Jamaican and Trinidad teams, winning the bronze medal.^[1] However, in January 2017, Jamaica's medal was revoked due to one of their athletes proven to have been doping; this meant that Japan now moved up to a silver medal. He also took part in the 200 metres individual. In his first round heat he placed fourth in a time of 20.58 seconds, outside the direct qualifiers. His time was however among the best losing times, securing his second round spot. In the second round he came to a time of 20.63 seconds and was eliminated as he only placed seventh in the heat.^[1]

Takahira made a good start to the 2009 season, finishing second and recording a new 200 m best of 20.31 s at the 2009 Osaka Grand Prix. He felt spurred on by running against American athlete Rodney Martin and stated that he hoped to make the semis or final of the forthcoming Berlin World Championships.^[3] He won the 200 m at the Japanese Championships, breaking his personal best with a run of 20.22 seconds. This was the third-fastest time ever run in Japan, and Takahira said "I was secretly hoping for Suetsugu’s (national) record".^[4]^[5]

Achievements[edit]

Competition record[edit]

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing Japan
2002	World Junior Championships	Kingston, Jamaica	7th	4×100m relay	40.05
2003	Universiade	Daegu, South Korea	1st	4x100 m relay	39.45
2003	Universiade	Daegu, South Korea	4th	4x400 m relay	3:05.97
2004	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	40th (h)	200 m	21.05
2004	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	4th	4x100 m relay	38.49
2005	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	33rd (h)	200 m	21.03
	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	8th	4x100 m relay	38.77
	Universiade	İzmir, Turkey	2nd	200 m	20.93
			2nd	4x100 m relay	39.29
			2nd (h)	4x400 m relay	3:05.02
	East Asian Games	Macau	1st	200 m	20.88
	East Asian Games	Macau	1st	4x100 m relay	39.61
2006	World Cup	Athens, Greece	3rd	4x100 m relay	38.51^[6]
	Asian Games	Doha, Qatar	3rd	200 m	20.81
	Asian Games	Doha, Qatar	2nd	4x100 m relay	39.21
2007	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	21st (qf)	200 m	20.77
2007	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	5th	4x100 m relay	38.03 (AR)
2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	21st (qf)	200 m	20.63
2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	2nd	4x100 m relay	38.15
2009	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	17th (qf)	200 m	20.69
	World Championships	Berlin, Germany	4th	4x100 m relay	38.30
	Asian Championships	Guangzhou, China	2nd	100 m	10.32
	Asian Championships	Guangzhou, China	1st	4x100 m relay	39.01
2010	Asian Games	Guangzhou, China	10th (h)	4x100 m relay	47.14
2011	Asian Championships	Kobe, Japan	1st	4x100 m relay	39.18
	World Championships	Daegu, South Korea	16th (sf)	200 m	20.90
	World Championships	Daegu, South Korea	9th (h)	4x100 m relay	38.66
2012	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	19th (sf)	200 m	20.77
2012	Olympic Games	London, United Kingdom	5th	4x100 m relay	38.35
2014	IAAF World Relays	Nassau, Bahamas	9th (h)	4x200 m relay	1:23.87
	Asian Games	Incheon, South Korea	2nd	4x100 m relay	38.49
	Asian Games	Incheon, South Korea	2nd (h)	4x400 m relay	3:05.53

Personal bests[edit]

Event	Time	Location	Date
100 metres	10.20 sec	Hiroshima, Japan	29 April 2009
200 metres	20.22 sec	Hiroshima, Japan	26 June 2009

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b ^c "Athlete Biography: TAKAHIRA Shinji". Beijing2008.cn. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. Archived from the original on 8 September 2008. Retrieved 29 August 2008.
^ Takahira Shinji Biography. IAAF. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
^ Nakamura, Ken (9 May 2009). ‘07 World champs Wariner, Clement and Thomas win again in Osaka – IAAF World Athletics Tour. IAAF. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
^ Nakamura, Ken (29 June 2009). Sprinters excel at the Japanese Champs. IAAF. Retrieved on 8 October 2019.
^ Fukushima breaks 200-meter mark. The Japan Times (27 June 2009). Retrieved on 8 October 2019.
^ Representing Asia

External links[edit]

[beijing-1] "Athlete Biography: TAKAHIRA Shinji". Beijing2008.cn. The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. Archived from the original on 8 September 2008. Retrieved 29 August 2008.

[2] Takahira Shinji Biography. IAAF. Retrieved 10 May 2009.

[3] Nakamura, Ken (9 May 2009). ‘07 World champs Wariner, Clement and Thomas win again in Osaka – IAAF World Athletics Tour. IAAF. Retrieved 8 October 2019.

[4] Nakamura, Ken (29 June 2009). Sprinters excel at the Japanese Champs. IAAF. Retrieved on 8 October 2019.

[5] Fukushima breaks 200-meter mark. The Japan Times (27 June 2009). Retrieved on 8 October 2019.

[6] Representing Asia

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