Track and Field Club member Masato Yokota wins gold at the Asian Junior Athletics Championships

Keio University Track and Field Club member Masato Yokota (1st year, Policy Management) recently won gold in the men’s 800 meters at the 12th Asian Junior Athletics Championships held in Macau from July 15 to 18. He also helped the Japanese team to victory in the relay by running the third leg of the 4 x 400 meters.

This was Yokota’s first overseas competition and he maintained his focus to produce a brilliant performance, despite fatigue from recent competitions and the challenges of competing in an unfamiliar country. Yokota ran the first 400 meters in a relatively slow 57 seconds, however, he surged into the lead in the last half of the race and recorded a finishing time of 1:51.34. This impressive performance puts him right on track for the 11th IAAF World Junior Championships to be held in Beijing from August 15 to 20.