high school champion at 100m, Momoko Takahashi recorded 11.77 (1.4m/s) for the 100m, eighth fastest high school time, in the Oda memorial meet on 29 April. Four days later she recorded 24.15 against a headwind of 0.8m/s. Then at the national championships in June, Takahashi finished sixth. Takahashi is essentially a rookie in the sport of track & field, for her main sport was softball until little over a year ago.
As a part time track athlete Takahashi showed her immense talent, which won her praise as a "diamond in the rough." In 2003 she won the 200m with 25.37 (-0.9m/s) and finished third at 100m at the national junior high school championships.
Takahashi then decided to concentrate on track & field in high school. Last August, as a first year high school student in Saitama Sakae high school, one of the well known track powerhouses in Japan, Takahashi won the 100m in the national inter-high school championships.
She was the first freshwoman in 19 years to win the high school championships at 100m. Two months later in October, Takahashi won the 200m in her age group with 24.07 (0.3m/s), eighth fastest high school time, at the 59th annual National Sports Festival. In both races Takahashi's speed at the end of the race was incomparable.
At the end of the 2004 season, in an interview with Track & Field Magazine of Japan, Takahashi said, "I have three goals for the 2005 season: First a triple crown (100m, 200m, 4x100m Relay) at the national inter-high school championships; second a high school record (23.76) at 200m; third make a final at the World Youth Championships."
During the 2004 season, it was obvious that she needed to work on three problems: endurance, start, and arm carriage. For example her lack of endurance was obvious in the 2004 national inter-high school championships.
After running 100m and 4x100m relays, she was exhausted and finished last in 200m. Thus during the winter preceding the 2005 season, Takahashi spent a lot of time in base training. She also worked on her start and thus no longer come upright immediately after the start. Takahashi also incorporated a training run while carrying 1kg weight in both hands. This presumably improved her arm carriage. Her arm motion is no longer from side to side across her body.
After her 11.77 performance in Hiroshima, Takahashi said, "My goal for the day was to improve my personal best (11.90) so I can be selected for the World Youth Championships team."
DOB: 16 Nov 1988
Ht/Wt: 167cm/54Kg
Personal Best: 100m: 11.77; 200m: 24.07
