Japan's 'Golden Bolt': 103-year-old challenges Usain Bolt for a race

Kyoto Closing in on his 104th birthday a twinkletoed Japanese sprinter has thrown down the challenge to the worlds fastest man Usain Bolt telling him lets rumbleUsain Bolt and Hidekichi MiyazakiHidekichi Miyazaki who holds the 100 metres world record for centenarians at 2983 seconds and is dubbed Golden Bolt after the Jamaican flyer plans to wait another five years for his dream race and was happy to reveal his secret weapon his daughters tangerine jamId love to race Bolt the wispyhaired Miyazaki told AFP in an interview after tottering over the line with a joyful whoop at a recent Japan Masters Athletics competition in Kyoto Im keeping the dream alive I try to stay in top shape and stay disciplined and healthyThats important for everyone even Usain Bolt Born in 1910 the year Japan annexed Korea and when the Titanic was still under construction the pintsized Miyazaki offered some dietary tips to Bolt whose world record is 958 secondsMy body is small so I take care of what I eat said Miyazaki who stands just 153 metres five feet tall and weighs in at 42 kilograms 92 pounds When I eat I chew each mouthful 30 times before swallowing he added loosening his Usain Bolt running shoesThat makes my tummy happy and helps my running And I eat my tangerine jam every day In a country with one of the worlds highest life expectancies Miyazaki is the poster boy for Japans turbocharged geriatrics Some 6000 pensioners are registered at the Masters federation which hosts more than 40 track and field meetings every year across the nationSerenaded by buzzing cicadas in sweltering heat Miyazaki fell into the arms of 73yearold daughter Kiyono after clocking 3835 more than 20 seconds behind race winner Yoshio Kita a relative spring chicken at 82 Id give myself five out of 10 for that he said after regaining his breath and copying Bolts trademark lightning poseBefore I ran I curled up for a little nap big mistake I felt stiff Im still young so its a learning process joked Miyazaki grinning from ear to ear as he put on a straw hat I can run for another five years Late bloomer Miyazaki who hails from teagrowing Shizuoka prefecture about 200 kilometres southwest of Tokyo was a late bloomer only taking up running at the age of 92 after watching an old peoples sports day broadcast on televisionHaving become the planets fastest centenarian in 2010 he now has his sights on another milestone in the unlikely 105109 age group category Thats what Im training for said Miyazaki who loses valuable seconds at the start of races because he cant hear the gun go offIts my birthday next month and thats my next goal He need only cross the finish line to set the new world record as no official mark exists in that age classAs Miyazaki left the track 85yearold Mitsue Tsuji tossed a shot put 473 metres this after she had set a mark of 207 metres in the long jump Not content she set a meet record of 1385 in the womens 60 metres sprint I started doing athletics when I was 81 she said My husband had passed away and I thought there was no point moping around at home aloneTsuji will join Miyazaki at next months Asia Masters championships in northeast Japan I had a bit of a fall last year and was going to skip it said Tsuji who credits power naps for her agedefying stamina But my son told me I might not live much longer so Ill do as Im told Ill keep going as long as Im aroundAs the pair tore it up with the other highfiving grannies and granddads in Kyoto 78yearold endurance runner Yoko Nakano pounded the streets in Tokyo preparing for her latest world record tilt Honolulu debut Nakano ran her first full marathon at 70 for fun while vacationing in Honolulu clocking four hours four minutes 44 seconds and now holds the world record for 75 to 79yearolds as well as those for the 3000 and 5000 metresWe were on holiday so I thought we might as well run she smiled perched on a tree stump in a canary yellow Tshirt and polka dot scarf Her world marathon mark now stands at 35342 The bespectacled Nakano whose has also run marathons in New York and Boston bounced back from stomach surgery last year building her postop fitness by walking up and down the hospital corridorsI walked about seven kilometres a day inside the hospital she said I guess Im too stubborn to quit Miyazaki who is also handy with a shot put gave an insight into his need for speed I make sure not to use my brain he said I always keep it empty and uncluttered Thats important