Ever since the early 1930s, middle-aged men are known to compete against younger athletes in many countries. This trend never went away, and by the 1960s began the Masters Athletics. Starting from age 35 and higher, athletes as old as 90+ years old also take part in the event. Always a source of inspiration, the M90 World Championships made news recently for a 92-year-old Japanese retired teacher’s win in record time.

Hiroo Tanaka recently won the M90 World 200m race and he did it with some style. There were hardly any signs of duress on his face even after the race. Here’s how he did it.

The joy on Hiroo Tanaka’s face says it all

In a recent Instagram post by Athletics Weekly, they wrote, “Hiroo Tanaka is 92 years old. This week he smashed the M90 world 200m record with an incredible 38.79 in Torun. Look at the dedication on his face. What time could you run at 92?” The post was sprinkled with a few emojis to better encapsulate the feelings behind such a mesmerizing record.

The last question, although rhetorical, was only to hint at the rarity of such a feat by any 90+ years old. The small clip posted alongside showed Tanaka running in a red and white T-shirt and red shorts with excitement on his face that couldn’t be captured in words.

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It was also interesting to note that the record was a big one if one factored in Tanaka’s lead ahead of everyone else in the race. Nobody else seemed to be in the frame initially, as Tanaka neared the finish line. The last time someone ran so well at the M90 World 200 was Tanaka himself in 2021.

He has done it in the past as well

At the 2021 M90 World 200 in Rokkasho, Japan, Hiroo Tanaka completed the race in record time too. The man born before World War 2, has lived a long and interesting life, and he continues to find more ways to inspire people. Tanaka, who started running at 60, has been now doing it for more than three decades now. He has genuinely smashed all existing stereotypes of older people and served as an exemplar. While even 70-year-old Michael Kish finished a 100m race at Penn Relays with a dominant run, Tanaka has truly pushed the boundaries.

Tanaka is closely followed by Yoshiyuki Shimizu of Brazil, who holds three positions in the list of fastest M90 200m runners. The competition was held in Torun in north-central Poland. David Carr of Australia took the 2nd position, almost 11 seconds behind Tanaka at 47.58 seconds.

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