There is no doubt that Japan’s Koji Murofushi is the finest hammer thrower Asia has ever produced. The 41-year-old, who won two Olympic medals – gold at the Athens 2004 Games and bronze at London 2012 – remains the only Asian athlete to have achieved such a feat. Standing 1.87m tall, the gentle giant is now taking on a new role as chairman of the Athletes’ Committee of the Asian Athletics Association. While Murofushi was taking a short break from a day packed with back-to-back meetings, the Japanese official said in an informal conversation that he expects thrilling competition in Doha, saying: “I feel a lot of excitement because this championship is the biggest that Asian indoor athletics has ever seen. I have spoken to many athletes from different countries, and they all seemed eager and ready for the competition to begin. I am confident that from Friday we will see a number of outstanding achievements under the roof of the Aspire Dome.”
The Shizuoka native said he was pleased with his new duties and promised to approach them with the same dedication he brought to major championships, saying: “I would like to thank the president of the Asian Athletics Association, Dahlan Al Hamad, who for the first time set up an Athletes’ Committee. This is a positive step forward, and it will help give athletes a voice at the highest level during the decision-making process. I promise to do my utmost to serve the interests of Asian athletes.”
However, the winner of the gold medal at the 2011 World Championships said his task would not be easy: “The biggest challenge we face is the sheer size of our continent. It stretches far and wide and contains many different and unique cultures. The large number of athletes in Asia makes the process of development extremely difficult.”
He added: “Even so, Asia has great potential. With better training facilities, I am confident we can do better work in the future. I firmly believe that the future of our sport lies in the Asian continent, and we will do everything we can to realise our continent’s true potential.”
The hammer thrower, who won twenty Japanese titles in a row between 1995 and 2015, explained that his success stemmed from training under his father, who was himself a hammer-throw champion.
Shigenobu in fact held the Japanese record for 23 years until Koji broke it. Emotion was clear on his face as he spoke of his long journey: “Thanks to my father’s efforts, I was fortunate to start this sport at an early age. Any athlete who wants to succeed needs a good coach who can teach him the philosophy of life and sport. My father guided my first steps in the field, and I was later able to manage my career well. I owe it to him that I have kept my grip on this event for so long. I can never thank him enough.”
The veteran Japanese athlete added: “The hammer throw has undergone radical change and has developed a great deal compared with what it was in the 1960s, ’70s and ’80s. I regard Dilshod Nazarov, who also heads the Tajikistan Athletics Federation, as my successor, and I am counting on him a great deal to achieve good results at this year’s Olympic Games in Rio.”
History records that Murofushi is the only Asian thrower to have won Olympic medals. While some point to a lack of physical build as the reason Asian athletes have not achieved success at major championships, Murofushi does not seem convinced by that view.
He says: “When a thrower has a good coach, physique is not the decisive factor in how good he can become. I do not think Asian athletes are of a lower standard than others. For example, during the period when I was competing at the highest level, my weight never exceeded 97 kilograms, whereas most of my rivals weighed between 100 and 120 kilograms. What mattered to me was getting the maximum benefit from my own abilities.”
He concluded his analysis by saying: “Sport is not just about physical strength. What is physical strength? It is speed multiplied by force. If you are very strong you lose some of your speed, and if you are very fast you lose some of your strength. Look at a car, for example: when it shifts from a low gear to a high one, it does not need much force because it is already moving very fast. In the same way, you have to identify your strengths and use your abilities wisely.”
