All-Japan Apparatus Finals 2023: Battered and bruised, Hashimoto Daiki, Miyata Shoko showing gymnastics championship mettle
Japan's top male and female all-arounders are limping into the 10-11 June competition in Tokyo but are not letting up just yet, digging deep - very deep - into their reservoir.
Artistic Gymnastics
How Hashimoto Daiki and Miyata Shoko keep going leaves one at a loss of words. Though perhaps that is why they are the faces of Japanese gymnastics.
Hashimoto is still recovering from a stress fracture in his lower back and a right-ankle injury. Miyata is also dealing with a stress fracture, in her right heel, which was so bad when diagnosed in February that it risked ending her career.
Both have already qualified for the 2023 world championships in September in Antwerp, Hashimoto as the defending men’s all-around world champion and Miyata by winning the NHK Trophy women's title last month. Their places are safe.
Yet here they were on Friday (9 June) at Yoyogi National Gymnasium soldering on, putting their bodies on the line for yet another meet this weekend - the All-Japan Apparatus Finals, where the last tickets to Antwerp will be issued (two men, one woman).
Hashimoto even competed at a regional inter-collegiate event for Juntendo University two weeks ago, which he duly won. Go figure.
“I’m starting to really feel it,” the 21-year-old said, looking visibly exhausted. “I had the inter-collegiate competition so I’m not going to push it this time. I’ll see how my body responds and take it from there.”
Citing the wear and tear, Hashimoto has pulled out of Saturday's floor event, unable to pull off a Ri Jong-song in practice. He will now focus on the pommel horse and horizontal bar.
But Hashimoto is not changing his program for either discipline, quietly confident that he can be good enough to win both.
“I haven’t been able to put together the routine I wanted to at both the (All-Japan All Around Championships) and the NHK Trophy,” the Olympic champion said. “Fewer events for me here obviously so I hope I can channel whatever I have left into the performances. That’s how I’ve been approaching this.
“I’m not changing anything. I’ll get the Liukin in on the horizontal bar to try to hit 6.7 but that’s about the only thing I’m taking note of.
“There’s a lot of fatigue. I tire quickly whenever I move and I just feel really heavy at the moment. Hopefully I can find a way around it.”
Hashimoto's Juntendo team-mate Miyata, who is also nursing discomfort in her elbow and shoulder, is entering all four women's events.
Following her triumph at the NHK Trophy, she had an MRI on her heel for the first time since February which showed the bone is reattaching - but not yet fully healed.
The women’s balance beam should be interesting, pitting the last two world champions (Watanabe Hazuki and Ashikawa Urara) and Miyata, who won bronze in Liverpool last year.
“A lot was lifted after I made the world championships team through the NHK,” Miyata said. “I spoke to the coach and basically didn’t do a thing for a week as I needed to rest the foot. I haven’t been practising a lot and I’ll just rely on what I built up to the NHK.
“I’m at peace right now. I won’t over do it, take care of my foot and try to have fun while putting on a good performance.”