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Asia's fastest man running for glory, if not an Olympic medal
TOKYO, Aug 20 (AFP) - Asias fastest man Koji Ito may be out of the running for a sprint medal at the Sydney Olympics, but breaking the 100 metres' 10-second barrier will be almost as good as gold. No non-black runner has ever dipped below the 10-second mark and Ito is hoping to be the first to do it. "I want to run under 10.00 seconds because I want attention on the record to stop," the 30-year-old Japanese athlete said. Ito has been hotly followed since he set an Asian record of 10.00secs on his way to victory at the 1998 Bangkok Asian Games. He believes he is capable of going faster, provided he gets the right conditions. "But it depends on the conditions whether I can break the 10.00-second barrier or not. The conditions differ from stadium to stadium and so do the winds," Ito added. Ito, was sidelined as a reserve at the 1992 Barcelona Games, but in 1996 became the first Japanese to reach the Olympic 200m semi-finals and finished fifth in the 4x400m relay event at Atlanta. But his career accelerated two years later after he modified his training and strengthened his thigh and calf muscles. In October 1998, he equalled the old Asian 100m record of 10.08 and set a new Asian 200m record of 20.16 at the national championships before taking the Asian Games by storm in December of that year. Ito, a self-declared 200m specialist, has already clocked an unofficial 9.9 seconds at a domestic exhibition in June last year. But, unlike his successful Asian Games build-up of two years ago, Ito has struggled this year and did not race until June. Nevertheless, Japan officials are confident he will be ready for Sydney. "He only needs to peak for the Olympics," said Susumu Takano of the Japan Amateur Athletic Federation. Ito is also hoping his appearance in the 100m, against the likes of US star Maurice Greene, will raise the profile of sprinting in Japan. "In Japan, sprint races are not so attractive like the marathon is. The Olympic Games are the only chance that we get to make the races appeal," Ito said.
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