Sorato Shimizu 100m Sprinter Spikes Height Age Record

Sorato Shimizu is an emerging new sprinter in the Japanese athletics world. Sorato Shimizu (清水空跳) is a Japanese short-distance runner who set a Japanese high school record by running the 100m in 10.00 seconds at the 2025 Inter-High School Championships. Born on February 8, 2009, in Ishikawa Prefecture, he is 16 years old as of 2025 and currently a second-year student at Seiryo High School (星稜高校). He has shown outstanding results in the 100m and 200m sprint events and has gained attention as the next-generation star in Japanese athletics. Despite his small stature of 164cm, he has demonstrated competitiveness with explosive sprinting and stable race management.

From his promising days, Sorato Shimizu showed rapid development based on solid fundamentals, strength, and acceleration. During his high school years, he stood out in major domestic competitions and participated in the Japan Athletics Federation’s development program to receive systematic training. He has been especially praised for his race management skills, focus on the track, and the speed he releases during competitions.

At the 2025 National High School Championships (Inter-High) 100m final, he made a big splash by setting a Japanese high school record with 10.00 seconds. Although the official time is recorded by rounding, the precise measured time was 9.995 seconds, indicating he was very close to breaking into the 9-second range. He broke the legendary record of Kiryu Yoshihide (桐生祥秀), which stood for 12 years at 10.01 seconds, creating a new history in Japanese athletics. This record corresponds to a world record for under 18 and is considered among the top records even among all Japanese athletes.

He began athletics at the age of 10 and stated that, since his whole family was interested in athletics, he naturally started the sport. He chose the Seiryo (星稜) track team in high school because the practice atmosphere was enjoyable and his seniors were fun and lively people. He is growing by self-identifying areas for improvement and maintaining a training method that involves observing and imitating the movements of various fast athletes.

When focusing on training, he makes every effort to maximize his strengths and improve weak points, concentrating on stride improvement. He continues to improve his skills by observing and analyzing movements of top domestic and international track athletes. He dreams of breaking into the sub-10-second range and participating in the World Championships while still in high school. Motivated by rival athletes, he has successfully improved his times and is writing a new history for Japanese short-distance sprinting.

At school, he balances academics and training, finishing studies early to focus on practice. During the off-season, he spends time with friends to recover his physical strength. His mentor is Hiroki Ueyama, who achieved excellent results at the Asian 200m Championships; Shimizu respects him and aims to emulate his competitive attitude and humanity. Having started athletics since the 4th grade of elementary school, he has steadily built his abilities, focusing on speed improvement with the goal of creating large strides despite his small physique.

Sorato Shimizu Profile

English : Simizu Sorato | Japaness : 清水空跳
Date of Birth: February 8, 2009 (about 17 years old, 2nd-year high school student)
Hometown: Japan | Nationality: Japan
Height: Approximately 164cm | Weight: 56kg | Blood Type: – | MBTI: – | Religion: –
Education: Seiryo High School (星稜高校)
Family: Unmarried, no spouse
Agency: –
Debut Year: –
Personal SNS Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/so2b_ra.t/

Sorato Shimizu 100m sprinter Spikes age height record

Japan Usain Bolt Sorato Shimizu 100m A to Z

He started athletics at the age of 10 (4th grade of elementary school). His entire family had experience in athletics, which naturally led him to the sport. In middle school, he won the 200m at the 2023 All-Japan Junior High School Championships, gaining attention as a promising athlete. After entering Seiryo High School as a first-year student in 2024, he recorded 10.56 seconds in the 100m and 21.20 seconds in the 200m at the June Inter-High Hoku Shinetsu tournament, qualifying for both events at the Inter-High.

In the same year, at the Ishikawa Prefecture National Sports Festival preliminaries in July, he set the best 1st-year high school record with 10.26 seconds (tailwind 1.9 m/s), ranking 2nd worldwide for U-18. At the 2024 Inter-High, he took 2nd place in the 100m with 10.50 seconds (-1.5 m/s headwind), earning a medal for the first time in 31 years as a freshman. In April 2025, he won gold with 10.38 seconds (tailwind 2.3 m/s) in the 100m at the U-18 Asian Championships. In May, at the Ishikawa Prefecture meet, he clocked 10.20 seconds (tailwind 1.4 m/s), ranking 4th in high school history.

At the 2025 Japan Championships in June, he reached the 100m 100m semifinals with 10.21 seconds but failed to qualify for the final. On July 26, 2025, at the Hiroshima Inter-High, he set the Japanese high school record and U-18 world record for the 100m with 10.00 seconds (tailwind 1.7 m/s, actual 9.995 seconds), meeting the qualification standard for the 2025 Tokyo World Championships.

Sorato Shimizu stood out with explosive starts and stable race management despite his small stature of 164cm. In the 2025 Inter-High, he maintained a powerful start and acceleration in the mid-section to achieve 10.00 seconds under tailwind 1.7 m/s conditions. His race video showed minimal torso shaking and smooth movements allowing efficient strokes and long sprint strides. He cited “natural speed in the start and mid-race” as his strengths and said he concentrates well when competing against rivals of his generation. Due to his small frame limiting stride length, he is training to make longer strides.

Sorato Shimizu vs. Usain Bolt Record Comparison

2002~2003 (ages 15-16): Recorded 10.80s range in Jamaica national and youth 100m/200m events
2004 (age 17): Began international competition, improved to 10.50s range while mid-teens
2005 (age 18): Won World Junior Championships 100m, broke into 10.30s range
2007 (age 20): Competed at World Athletics Championships, ran 9.95s, signaling elite status
May 31, 2008 (age 21): Set first 100m world record at 9.72s at New York Reebok Grand Prix
August 16, 2008 (age ~21): Broke world and Olympic record with 9.69s at Beijing Olympics, winning gold
August 16, 2009 (age 23): Set current world record with 9.58s at Berlin World Championships

Usain Bolt gradually improved times from mid-teens (10.8-10.5s range), broke into the sub-10s in early 20s, and held dominant world records through his mid-20s. Although Japanese, Sorato Shimizu’s records surpass many legendary performances and, considering Bolt’s height of 195cm, the smaller stature of Shimizu (164cm) suggests potential for further stride and speed improvements as he grows.

Sorato Shimizu Footwear

Mizuno CHRONO INX NEO JAPAN

Sorato Shimizu Awards and Key History

2023: Won 200m at All-Japan Junior High School Championships
2024: Gold in 100m at U-18 Asian Championships
2024: 2nd place in 100m at Inter-High
2025: 1st place in 100m at Inter-High
2025: Won the 100m at National High School Championships with a record
Holds the Asia U-18 world record
July 2025: Won 100m at National High School Athletics Meet with Japanese HS record (10.00 seconds)

Sorato Shimizu Family and Marriage

Influenced by parents with athletics experience, he started athletics at age 10. He was diagnosed with a rare neuromuscular disorder, myasthenia gravis, in middle school but manages symptoms with family support and medication and competes in good health.

Sorato Shimizu Schedule

At the Tokyo World Athletics Championships held in 2025:

On July 26, he ran 10.00 seconds in the men’s 100m final at Hiroshima Inter-High (tailwind 1.7 m/s, actual 9.995s), setting the Japanese high school record and U-18 world record. This broke Kiryu Yoshihide’s 2013 record of 10.01 seconds after 12 years and ranked 5th overall among Japanese sprinters.

He reported being motivated by rival Shoyu Sugano’s unofficial 10.06 seconds. This record qualified him for the 2025 Tokyo World Championships and positioned him as a possible national representative. In May 2025, he ran 10.20 seconds (tailwind 1.4 m/s) at an Ishikawa Prefecture meet, placing him 4th in high school all-time rankings. In April, he won gold at the U-18 Asian Championships with a time of 10.38 seconds. He declared his goal to break into the 9-second range, earning the nickname “the start of a legend” among Japanese athletics fans and great attention.

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