By TAKANORI TSUJI/ Staff Writer
August 25, 2023 at 18:04 JST
Haruka Kitaguchi participates in the qualifying round of the women's javelin on Aug. 23 at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest. (Hikaru Uchida)
As a young girl, Haruka Kitaguchi was told by an instructor at her swimming school that she would drown because her arm and leg movements were not coordinated.
Fast-forward to today and Kitaguchi's arms and legs are working in perfect tandem as she launches the javelin to jaw-dropping distances.
The 25-year-old's world ranking is currently No. 1, and she breezed through the qualifying round for the women's javelin finals of the World Athletics Championships to be held in Budapest on Aug. 25.
Kitaguchi's ascension started in 2019 when she broke the Japanese record in the women’s javelin.
But when her distances did not improve, Kitaguchi, through an acquaintance, consulted with Kazutaka Adachi, 66, an associate professor of applied anatomy at the University of Tsukuba.
After watching video of Kitaguchi in training, Adachi’s first impression echoed her childhood swimming instructor.
“She runs like a kindergarten child," he thought. "There is no coordination between her upper and lower body.”
But Adachi also saw potential in Kitaguchi, particularly her powerful physique that could match up to foreign athletes. He felt that she could continue improving on her record depending on her training.
He emphasized repetitive training, such as running up and down stairwells, so the movement would become second nature.
If her lower body moved naturally, it would lead to a more efficient run before releasing the javelin.
The Czech coach who had been advising Kitaguchi until then told her to make her approach run at full speed.
But Adachi suggested that she restrain her speed to about 70 to 80 percent and concentrate on finding the right rhythm.
Adachi said, “If she ran at full speed, her brain would tend to focus on that and her other body movements would suffer.”
Adachi also told Kitaguchi that weight training for her throwing arm alone would not suffice.
Instead, she should focus on her chest and back muscles as well as the shoulder muscles because those were the ones used most in pulling the javelin back before releasing it.
He also told her to maintain her running because the strength of her lower body muscles would directly translate into longer distances when she threw the spear.
Kitaguchi has improved over the three years Adachi that has been advising her. This season, she has won two events in the top-tier Diamond League.
Adachi said talent alone did not bring Kitaguchi to where she is today, possibly on the cusp of a world championship.
“She knows her own weaknesses and has made efforts to overcome them,” he said.
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