InsideJapan News Network

Koji Murofushi of Japan took gold in the men's hammer throw at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships on Monday in Daegu, South Korea.

In the final, Murofushi matched his third throw of 81.24m with his fifth attempt, and when his nearest competitor, Hungary's Krisztian Pars, failed to match his attempt the one-time Olympic champion clinched the gold.

At 36 years old, Morufushi's victory makes him the oldest person to take gold at international level, beating Yuriy Sedekh by just several months.

The athlete has only competed twice this season and after throwing four consecutive seasonal bests at this level, his emotional celebration with Swedish coach Tore Gustafsson was understandable.

Gustaffson put the success in part down to the relationship between Murofushi and his father, who was also a champion hammer thrower.

"He's a perfectionist. I think it comes from his father's side. He's spent a long time training with his father and he passed everything onto his son. It's very Japanese in many ways."

On Monday evening, the IAAF presented the Japan Association of Athletics Federation (JAAF) with a cheque for £154,000 in order to assist the rebuilding of their shattered society.

Written by Mark Smith


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