is a Japanese

racewalker Race walking, or racewalking, is a long-distance discipline within the sport of athletics. Although a foot race, it is different from running in that one foot must appear to be in contact with the ground at all times. Race judges carefully asses ...

. He has represented Japan in the 20 km event twice at the

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations. Alongside Olympic ...

and competed at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. He is the pending

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

holder for the

20 km walk The 20 kilometre race walk is an Olympic athletics event that is competed by both men and women. The racewalking event is competed as a road race. Athletes must always keep in contact with the ground and the supporting leg must remain straight un ...

with a time of 1:16:36 hours at an event in his home town of Nomi in 2015. Suzuki competed in race walking from a young age and his international debut came at the

2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics were held in Grosseto, Italy on 12–18 July. Results Men Women Medal table Participation According to an unofficial count through an unofficial result list, 1261 athletes from 168 count ...

. He was the 10,000 metres walk bronze medallist at the

2005 World Youth Championships in Athletics The 2005 IAAF World Youth Championships in Athletics, World Youth Championships in Athletics were held in Marrakesh, Morocco on July 13–July 17. The host stadium was Stade Sidi Youssef Ben Ali. The boy's 400 metres hurdles event was initially w ...

and the

2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2006 World Junior Championships in Athletics is the 2006 version of the World Junior Championships in Athletics. It was held from 15 August to 20 August at the Chaoyang Sports Centre in Beijing, the capital of the People's Republic of China ...

.Yusuke Suzuki
. IAAF. Retrieved on 17 March 2013. He began competing in the senior ranks a year later and came sixth in the 20 km walk at the

Asian Race Walking Championships The Asian Race Walking Championships is an annual race walking competition for athletes representing countries from Asia, organized by the Asian Athletics Association (AAA). It was established in 2006 and has featured races for senior men (20&nbs ...

and fourth at the

2007 Summer Universiade The 2007 Summer Universiade officially known as the XXIV Summer Universiade and commonly known as Bangkok Universiade, was an international multi-sport for university athletes that took place from 8 to 18 August 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand, with pr ...

.Yusuke Suzuki
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 17 March 2013. In the following two years he came tenth and fifth at the Asian Race Walking Championships. A personal best time of 1:22:05 hours in 2009 earned him a place at the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15 to 23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenbu ...

but he was among the last walkers to finish in the 20 km race. He won the 2010 Asian title with a new best of 1:20:06 hours, but again did not perform well on the global stage, taking 40th place at the

2010 IAAF World Race Walking Cup The 2010 IAAF World Race Walking Cup was held on 15 and 16 May 2010 in the streets of Chihuahua, Mexico.Asian Games The Asian Games, also known as Asiad, is a continental multi-sport event held every four years for athletes of Asia. The Games were regulated by Asian Games Federation from the 1951 Asian Games, first Games in New Delhi, India in 1951, until ...

. The

2011 World Championships in Athletics The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011. The United States topped the medal standings in the ...

saw him establish himself among the world's top walkers, as he placed eighth overall in the 20 km event. He pushed out the pace at the beginning of the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, but finished back down the order placing 36th. The start of the 2013 season saw Suzuki break the Japanese record twice – he won the national title in 1:19:02 hours then took his second Asian title with a finish in 1:18:34 hours in

Nomi, Ishikawa is a city located in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 50,132 in 18,585 households, and a population density of 600 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Geography Nomi is located in southwestern I ...

.Suzuki breaks Japanese record at Asian Race Walking Championships
IAAF (10 March 2013). Retrieved on 17 March 2013. Suzuki was selected to once again to compete for

Japan at the 2020 Summer Olympics Japan was the host nation of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020 but postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the nation's official debut in 1912 S ...

in Tokyo.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Suzuki, Yusuke 1988 births Living people People from Nomi, Ishikawa Sportspeople from Yokohama Athletes from Kanagawa Prefecture Japanese male race walkers Olympic male race walkers Olympic athletes for Japan Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Asian Games silver medalists for Japan Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Asian Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games World Athletics Championships athletes for Japan World Athletics Championships medalists World Athletics Championships winners Japan Championships in Athletics winners World Athletics record holders 21st-century Japanese sportsmen Asian Games silver medalists in athletics (track and field)