Towa Uzawa
Born in Miyagi Prefecture in 2002. Men’s 200m (20.23) Japan National Team at Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Graduated from Tsukidate High School and belongs to the University of Tsukuba. Joined Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. (JAL) in April 2025.
When he was in junior high school, he was a baseball player who dreamed of playing in Koshien. However, he gave up baseball after hurting his elbow during practice. After entering high school, he switched to sprinting in track and field. In his sophomore year of high school, he won both the 100m and 200m events at the Inter-High School Championships. After entering the University of Tsukuba, he won the Japan intercollegiate title in the 200m in his second year in 2022. With his momentum intact, he won his first title at the Japan Championships in 2023 and was selected to represent Japan at the Budapest 2023 World Athletics Championships. At the World Athletics Championships, where he participated for the first time, he made it to an impressive semi-final.
In 2024, he won back-to-back Japan Championships and participated in the Paris 2024 Olympics. Like the World Athletics Championships, he reached the semi-finals and showed that he is one of the best in Japan. In the same year, he was appointed as a “TDK Athlete Ambassador” by TDK Corporation, the sponsor of the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, and is expected to lead the Japanese athletics world to a new stage in 2025.
Regrets in Paris: “I haven’t come to terms with it yet”
――You made it to the semi-finals of the 200m at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Looking back, what kind of tournament do you feel it was for you?
It was my first Olympics, and I had a lot of things to think about. In the qualifying round, I wanted to beat Noah Lyles (USA) and Andre DeGrasse (Canada), who were in the same group, so I felt like I was going to get the momentum going, but I was in a very good physical and mental condition. On the other hand, in the semi-finals, I had a strong desire to make it to the final, so I didn’t run like myself. I felt lethargic and couldn’t use my full strength.
――You said that “you were not satisfied as an athlete deep down in your heart” when you were not selected for the 4×100m relay team. How did you come to terms with that feeling?
No, I don’t think I have come to terms with it yet. I will never have the opportunity to run at the Paris 2024 Olympics again, so I have a strong feeling that I missed it. That’s why I want to run at the next World Athletics Championships, and to do that, I need to participate in the World Relays and achieve results. The quickest way is to show demonstrate my ability without complaint. Of course, Abdul Hakim Sani Brown has experience, but he was selected entirely on his ability. In the end, it’s better to be just fast. Now I’ve learned how to run the 100m and I’m definitely better than I was in Paris. It doesn’t matter how many runs I do. I will definitely run at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25.
“I will definitely run” at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25
――Was there anything that left an impression on you at the Olympics?
I had a chance to meet and talk with Brendon Rodney (Canada), who I raced with at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix, at the stadium. Rodney won the gold medal in the 4×100m relay in three runs. I saw the athlete I ran with standing in front of me as the best in the world. I felt that I was very inspired, or rather, that my heart was lifted. I met him at the closing ceremony and said, “Let’s run together in Tokyo,” so I want to fulfill that promise.
――Has your experience at the Olympics changed you in any way?
I didn’t think of the Olympics as something special before. However, I felt that the passion of the athletes in other sports and the enthusiasm of the people supporting were amazing. It wasn’t until I participated in the Olympics that I realized “how hot the Olympics are”. My hometown is in a very rural area, but there was a public viewing. It was around 2 or 3 a.m. But my parents, who took care of me when I was playing baseball when I was in elementary school, my classmates from my school days, elderly people who lived in the same area, and teachers from the school also came to watch the game. I felt the significance of being on this stage, and more than anything, I was very happy.
Promised to meet again at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25.
10km a day!? The amount of practice due to the continuous pursuit of quality
――How did you get into track and field?
I played baseball until junior high school, but I broke my elbow and had no choice but to start track and field. I couldn’t do the throwing event because I had broken my elbow. I’m recovering a lot now, but back then it was hard even to hold things, and sometimes I still get numb when I’m doing weights. I couldn’t do long distances because it was hard to start with. The high school didn’t have the equipment for jumping, so that’s how I got started to do short distance by process of elimination.
――In just one and a half years since you started track and field, you have won two inter-high school titles (100m and 200m), how did you feel about it?
Because of my personality, I’m serious about what I do. I was enthusiastic, and I practiced so much that I could confidently say that I had “practiced the most” among my peers. As a result, I won the Inter-High Championships.
He says that he was able to achieve this because of “the amount of practice” he had done.
――How long have you been practicing?
I have done more than 10km a day just for the 100-meter dash. I easily exceeded 100 runs.
――What!? Did you keep up with that amount in your daily practice?
Speaking of which, those 100 runs were separate from club activities. I went to a high school in the rural area, so my club wasn’t a tough one. I didn’t have enough practice, so I felt like I was running alone for a long time after I finished. After the run, I did a lot of reinforcement training that I still think is tough. From there, I started another workout with my friends from the badminton club, who I was very close with.
――Well, it sounds really hard.
No, but when you do this, it becomes strangely easy. If I started with the intention of running 100 runs, it would definitely be tough, but it wasn’t like that. One by one, I was working on the technical aspects of the race, thinking, “this is how I ran now, so I will do it this way next time,” and before I knew it, I was running the number of runs. This is a common thing for track and field athletes.
The foundation for me as an athlete has been laid.
“I’m still waiting for coincidences” Lessons learned from my teacher which made sense
――Where did you learn this kind of practice?
I am completely self-taught. I watched videos of Usain Bolt and other fast athletes and imitated them. At first, the level was too high, but sometimes it just happens to work. Around August of my first year of high school, I ran the 10-second mark in the 100m for the first time, and I felt really good at that time. My legs went on their own, and my times improved. That feeling came to me by accident, and I kept doing it. But I’m clumsy, so even if I wanted to do that run again, I wouldn’t be able to do it right away. So I kept doing it over and over again, picking up similar feelings.
However, my time dropped after I kept doing it, and I got injured in the second year of high school and couldn’t set a personal best at all… I was struggling with things that weren’t going well, and then I had a second coincidence about a month before the Inter-high championships. I ran thinking that I could pick up this sense of coincidence again, and after running many times, I won the Inter-high championships.
――So you thought that accumulating these coincidences would be a shortcut to improving your time.
No, I didn’t even think about it that much at the time. At a training camp when I was in my second year of high school, Professor Kota Sakuma, a graduate of the University of Tsukuba, taught me that “When coincidences come together, it becomes inevitable”. I understood all at once, “That’s what I’ve been doing!” There was nothing wrong with the way I did it. That’s why I’m still waiting for coincidences. If I can find it again somewhere, my time will improve, and I feel that it will come out soon.
I continue to run with the teachings of Prof. Sakuma in my heart.
――How many times has this coincidence happened so far?
Three times. The first time was when I hit the 10-second mark for the first time in high school, the second time was when I was in second year of high school, and the third time was around May of my third year of university. When I was practicing running through the curve leading to the second half of the 200m, I felt like I could go through the curve and accelerate all at once. Since I was able to make that coincidence inevitable, my time has improved considerably. And now I am starting to do something different with the curves. If I can meet a new coincidence there, I think my time will improve even more. The only question is whether or not I can create a body that will lead to that evolution. I think it depends on how much practice I do.
I rushed in with all my might, and I was knocked down with all my strength
――Where do you currently set the record you are aiming for?
First of all, I aim to break the Japanese record (20.03 seconds). It hasn’t been broken for more than 20 years, but I think that’s because I wasn’t born.
――Just the other day, I interviewed the Japanese record holder, Shingo Suetsugu.
Shingo Suetsugu…, he is such an amazing athlete. I also watched YouTube with Sou Takei, and I felt like he was running faster than me. I’ve always felt that the barriers for Shingo Suetsugu are insanely high. The more I run, the more I realize how amazing his time is. However, just because he broke the Japanese record does not mean that it will be accepted in the world. The level of the world is a little faster than the Asian record (19.88 seconds). And you have to be able to do it consistently. That’s what makes a strong player, and I think he’s a world-class player.
――You made it to the semifinals at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, where you participated for the first time. What was the experience like for you?
It was my first major international tournament since representing Japan. I had nothing to lose, so I rushed in with all my might, but I was knocked down with all my might. I think it was great that I was able to be keenly aware of the difference between Japan and the rest of the world, and it led me to my current thinking. I realized that I couldn’t compete with just the feeling of “I’m going to win”, so I think it was a good tournament that gave me the opportunity to experience that.
of the difference between Japan and the rest of the world.
It was a good experience that let me grow.
――What are your goals for the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo?
First of all, I need to make it to the finals. And I would be happy if I could break the Japanese record by then. I also want to win the gold medal in the 4×100m relay and sing the national anthem with my teammates. Haruka Kitaguchi won the gold medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics, and I went to watch the tournament. When I saw Kitaguchi crying with joy as she sang the national anthem at the medal ceremony, I almost cried.
――What are you looking forward to and expecting at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25?
We are planning to do a track and field class. I’m thinking about how to communicate track and field well towards the World Athletics Championships, and I think one of them will be the track and field class. It is difficult to transmit information on land… In team sports such as baseball and football, the game time is quite long, and it is easy to convey the points that can be shown to some extent. However, on track, especially short distances, it can be over in an instant. The amount of time and thought that I have put into the sport cannot be expressed in a word or two. That’s why the reality is that all I can say is, “let’s cheer together and have fun”.
On top of that, the most important thing is to achieve results in the world and say, “There are such amazing people in Japan”, and everyone will be interested. I think that’s the quickest way and the best way for me. Thanks to Haruka Kitaguchi, Sani Brown, and Muratake Rashid, the level of attention is increasing, so I want to be one of them, and I must be one of them.
“The Seven Deadly Sins” is first love (or something like that)
――How do you usually spend your days off?
I am immersed in manga, anime, and games. I don’t want to step out of the house. When I was little, I used to play games like everyone else, but after watching the anime “The Seven Deadly Sins” when I was in junior high school, I became hooked. It really stuck with me at the time. It’s like a textbook of life, and it’s a work that guided me to the point where when I get lost in something, I think, “What would I do if I were this character?” I finished it when I was in my third year of high school, but it was fun to keep chasing it.
――What was it that stuck with you?
It’s a detailed story. In the first and second seasons, the drawing was really good. Also, the voice actors were gorgeous. Yuki Kaji played Meliodas, the main character, and Teng Amamiya played Elizabeth. The characters, the story, and the songs are also good. The first term is all about living things. In the second term, it was FLOW, and I thought, “That’s going to stick, isn’t it?” Also, the special moves are too strong. It can bounce back by multiplying the opponent’s magic power with almost zero power. It’s bound to be strong. There was also a catchphrase for each character, and it was cool and I was hooked. I’m just a nerd, but is that okay?
Being a total nerd.
――It’s okay. What kind of games do you play?
I haven’t been able to do it lately because I’ve been busy with my graduation thesis, but what I’ve decided to do when I’m done with it is the remake of “Dragon Quest 3”. I’m going to save the world. And maybe “Kingdom Hearts”.
――You can’t help but to save the world.
That’s right, I have to go defeat the Demon King as soon as possible. It was released in November, but I haven’t been able to do it yet.
――If you had to put it in order, would “The Seven Deadly Sins” be the best?
It is already in the Hall of Fame in my mind, so it is not the best. “The Seven Deadly Sins” is the starting point and a special one. It’s like a first love for me.
――I suppose you will experience post-show blues after it is over.
There’s a sequel called “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”, so I will be fine. The scary thing is that the author says that he drew “The Seven Deadly Sins” just to draw “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse”. I thought it was just amazing. “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” also has quite a few characters from “The Seven Deadly Sins”, so I was saved, but I will experience post-show blues when this is over. It’s crazy.
“The Seven Deadly Sins” was full of love.
Does eating sweets affect athletic performance?
――What did you write on your graduation thesis?
I am writing about whether eating sweets or not has an advantage in competition results and events.
――That is an unusual research…
I love sweets. But when I was in high school, I didn’t any sweets at all. I had decided not to eat sweets or eat out. I continued to do that, but when I entered university, the coronavirus pandemic hit, and I completely burned out. Since I started eating at that time, I have been eating 1~2 bags of gummies every day, which I used to like. Sweets have a bad image for athletes, don’t they? But my time was improving, so I thought, “maybe there’s something to it”.
I also like to cook, and I wanted to do research on nutrition, so I decided to research “whether eating sweets or not eating sweets would give me an advantage in competition results and other events”. At the moment, I can’t say for sure based on the results alone, but there was almost no difference between those who won prizes at the Japan Championships and those who did not participate in competitions such as intercollegiate championships. The problem is not there, but whether you are practicing properly and living your life. I’ve been practicing and living properly, so I wonder if I’ve been able to prove it. However, I didn’t think it would be a good idea to say, “Well, I can eat it now,” regardless of the competition, so I wrote a long preamble at the beginning of my thesis, “As long as you practice and live well”.
――It’s quite an unusual theme, isn’t it?
Even if I looked for references, I couldn’t find any. Also, there are various analysis methods, but no one in the laboratory uses my method, so no one knew about it. I searched for a thesis and managed to write it with the help of senior graduate students.
Eat 1~2 bags of your favorite gummies every day.
Habit of collecting “Experience”
――Are you the type of person who pursues what you like and what you are interested in?
I guess I want to gain more experience. I think I have a habit of collecting. I also like figurines, so I want to collect a lot of them. I have about 150 figures in my house, or maybe 300 if you include the smaller ones.
――Moving must have been stressful.
It was hard. There are about 4,000 mangas… It makes me want to collect them. Maybe that’s also because I want to collect the “experience” of watching anime and playing games.
――With so much, how do you store it at home?
I use one room for that. So I squashed the closet. Put a shelf to put the figurines in there and arrange them in a row. When you walk into that room, there are a lot of characters that I like. It’s awesome!
This is Towa Uzawa.
Mr. Rashid is really cool. Toyoken (Ken Toyoda) has no drawbacks
――Are there any athletes you would recommend other than yourself?
(Muratake) Rashid has been treating me well since I was in high school. From April, he will be a senior employee of the same company, and he is my role model. He’s really cool… It’s the same when I am competing with him, and going out to dinner with him. Also, he smells good. I’m just a fan of him.
Ken Toyoda was also interviewed for this project. He’s so flawless that it makes me irritated. “How many do you have? It would be nice if you could give me at least one”. He is too cool. Originally, I had heard from people around me that “Toyoken was a good guy”, but I thought that there would be at least one flaw. But there’s nothing… I set him up once, thinking that he would be a little cool to go along with a joke, but he was able to do it. Why is he so cool?
――Are there any other athletes you get along with?
Then there’s Hiroto Fujiwara of Chuo University. We went to inter-high championships together from high school, and we got along well. He won the gold medal in the 4×100m relay at the U20 World Athletics Championships, and his ability is impeccable. Because he interacts with people without discrimination, he is also well-liked by people. He makes an uproar like “The College Student”, but he is very serious about track and field, and he is thinking about a lot of things.
He contacts me regularly. When I participated in the match, he was watching me and said, “do your best”. I’m happy about that, and he’s a really good guy.
――Finally, do you have a message for readers who are looking forward to the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25?
It’s not often that you get to watch the world’s best matches in Japan. I want you to see a variety of athletes from all over the world. You can see the world’s top level running, jumping, and throwing. This is the highest peak on earth. In this context, I would like you to support the Japanese athletes, including myself. At the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the cheers towards the local European athletes were incredible. The World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 is our home ground for us. Please send the world’s best cheers to the Japan athletes like no other country!
Instagram：uzawa_tf__official
X：@towa1125
text by Moritaka Ohashi
photographs by Uta Mukuo
Co-production：The Local Organising Committee of World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25
