Asuka Cambridge
 Cambridge at the 2016 Olympics | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 31, 1993 Jamaica |
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 74 kg (163 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country |
 Japan |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event(s) | 100 m, 200 m |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Personal best(s) |
100 m – 10.10 (2016) 200 m – 20.62 (2013)[1] |
Medal record
| |
.svg.png){kind=icon}
.svg.png){kind=icon}
.svg.png){kind=icon}
Asuka Antonio "Aska" Cambridge (ケンブリッジ 飛鳥 Kenburijji Asuka, born May 31, 1993) is a Japanese track and field sprinter who competes in the 100 metres and 200 metres. His personal best for 100m of 10.10 seconds is Japan's 9th fastest time. He is a two-time East Asian Games gold medallist and a relay bronze medallist at the World Junior Championships in Athletics. His father is Jamaican and his mother is Japanese.[2]
In the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Cambridge was part of the 4×100 m relay for Japan, which took the silver medal in the final.
Biography
Cambridge was born in Jamaica to a Jamaican father and Japanese mother. His given name Asuka generally signifies "flying bird" in Japanese language, and has also been a city name and period name in Ancient Japan. (see Asuka period) [2][3] When he was 2 years old, his family moved from Jamaica to Osaka, Japan. He played football until the age of twelve. When he was fourteen, he moved to Tokyo from Osaka. Cambridge then focused on athletics, running sprinting events for his high school in Tokyo and later at Nihon University, where he studied literature and science. He was fourth in the 100 m at the 2011 National Sports Festival of Japan.[4] At the 2012 World Junior Championships in Athletics he narrowly missed out on the 200 m final,[5] but he excelled in the relay alongside Kazuma Oseto, Akiyuki Hashimoto, and Kazuki Kanamori – the team ran an Asian junior record of 39.01 seconds in the heats (the fastest of all the qualifiers) and were just one hundredth slower in the final, where they claimed the bronze medals.[6][7]
In 2013, Cambridge improved his personal bests to 10.33 seconds for the 100 m and 20.62 seconds for the 200 m.[4] He won his first international gold medals at the 2013 East Asian Games by beating compatriot Shōta Iizuka in the 200 m and then teaming up with his rival to help secure the 4×100 metres relay title for Japan. Their time of 38.44 seconds was a new East Asian Games record – an improvement of nearly half a second.[8]
On June 25, 2016, Cambridge won the 100 m final at the Japan Championships in 10.16 to qualify for the Rio Olympics.[9]
On August 19, 2016, Cambridge won a silver medal in the 4×100 m relay for Japan at the 2016 Summer Olympics by setting a new Asian record of 37.60 seconds with teammates Ryōta Yamagata, Yoshihide Kiryū, and Shōta Iizuka.[10]
Japan's top 10 records for men's 100m
| Rank | Time (sec) | Wind (m/s) | Athlete | Team | Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10.00 | +1.9 | Koji Ito | Fujitsu | Bangkok | 13 December 1998 |
| 2 | 10.01 | +0.9 | Yoshihide Kiryu | Rakunan High School | Hiroshima | 29 April 2013 |
| 3 | 10.02 | +2.0 | Nobuharu Asahara | Osaka Gas | Oslo | 13 July 2001 |
| 4 | 10.03 | +1.8 | Shingo Suetsugu | Tokai University | Mito | 5 May 2003 |
| +0.5 | Ryota Yamagata | Seiko Holdings | Osaka | 25 September 2016 | ||
| 6 | 10.07 | +1.9 | Masashi Eriguchi | Waseda University | Hiroshima | 28 June 2009 |
| 7 | 10.09 | +1.8 | Naoki Tsukahara | Fujitsu | Hiroshima | 27 June 2009 |
| -0.1 | Kei Takase | Fujitsu | Kawasaki | 10 May 2015 | ||
| 9 | 10.10 | +0.7 | Asuka Cambridge | Dome | Kumagaya | 21 May 2016 |
| 10 | 10.11 | +0.3 | Shingo Kawabata | Hosei University | Tokyo | 2 September 2000 |
References
- ↑ "Aska Cambridge IAAF profile". IAAF. Retrieved June 26, 2016.
- 1 2 Reid, Paul A. (August 13, 2016). Jamaica spreading its Men's 100m talent across the globe. Jamaica Observer.
- ↑ Nagatsuka, Kaz (June 4, 2016). Cambridge dreaming of big future. Japan Times.
- 1 2 Asuka Cambridge. Tilastopaja. Retrieved on December 22, 2013.
- ↑ 2012 World Junior Championships Men's 200 metres semi-final. IAAF. Retrieved on December 22, 2013.
- ↑ 2012 World Junior Championships 4x100 Metres Relay – men. IAAF. Retrieved on December 22, 2013.
- ↑ JAPAN National Junior Records. JAAF. Retrieved on December 22, 2013.
- ↑ Mulkeen, Jon (October 10, 2013). Chinese athletes dominate on home soil at East Asian Games. IAAF. Retrieved on 2013-12-22.
- ↑ Studying leads Cambridge to Rio. The Japan News. Retrieved on June 29, 2016.
- ↑ Mckirdy, Andrew (2016-08-20). "Bolt completes triple-triple with Jamaica's gold in 4×100 relay; Japan makes history by taking silver". The Japan Times Online. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 2016-08-20.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Asuka Cambridge. |
- Asuka Cambridge profile at IAAF
- Asuka Cambridge on Twitter
- Asuka Cambridge on Facebook
- Asuka Cambridge on Instagram