Tsubasa Kitatsuru

Tsubasa Kitatsuru (北津留 翼, Kitatsuru Tsubasa, born April 26, 1985 in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka) is a Japanese professional track cyclist.[1] He has collected five Asian Championships and two Asian Games medals to his career hardware in men's sprint, and later represented Japan at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Kitatsuru currently races for the Japan Professional Cycling Union.

Tsubasa Kitatsuru
Personal information
Full nameTsubasa Kitatsuru
Born (1985-04-26) 26 April 1985
Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan
Height1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Weight85 kg (187 lb)
Team information
DisciplineTrack
RoleRider
Rider typeSprinter
Amateur team
-Japan Professional Cycling Union
Professional team
2012Cyclo Channel Tokyo
Medal record
Men's track cycling
Representing  Japan
Asian Games
2006 Doha Sprint
2010 Guangzhou Sprint
Asian Championships
2005 Ludhiana Sprint
2006 Kuala Lumpur Sprint
2007 Bangkok Sprint
2011 Bangkok Sprint
2004 Yokkaichi Sprint
2005 Ludhiana Keirin

Emerging as one of Japan's most successful sprinters in track cycling, Kitatsuru sought sporting headlines at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, where he defeated South Korea's Choi Lae-Seon in the decided with a best time of 10.882 seconds, making him the fifth Japanese rider in the Games' history to take home the men's sprint gold.[2][3]

Kitatsuru qualified for his first Japanese squad, as a 23-year-old, in the men's sprint at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing by receiving one of the team's four available berths based on UCI's selection process from the Track World Rankings. Kitatsuru lost his round-of-sixteen match-up against France's Mickaël Bourgain, and finished second in his repechage heat behind Malaysia's Azizulhasni Awang, thus eliminating him from the tournament.[4] Earlier in the morning session, Kitatsuru grabbed a fourteenth seed with a time of 10.391.[5]

At the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, Kitatsuru missed his title defense to settle only for the silver medal in men' sprint, after losing out to host nation China's Zhang Lei on a two-race final match.[6][7]

Career highlights
2003
  • UCI Junior Track World Championships (Keirin), Moscow (RUS)
  • UCI Junior Track World Championships (Sprint), Moscow (RUS)
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2010
2011
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References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Tsubasa Kitatsuru". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  2. "Kitatsuru zooms to cycling gold". The Japan Times. 15 December 2006. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  3. "China Olympic hopeful Guo Shuang shine in Doha Asiad". Xinhua News Agency. 13 December 2006. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  4. "Men's Sprint Repechage Round 1". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  5. "Men's Sprint Qualification". Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
  6. Chang, Anita (17 November 2010). "Malaysia wins men's cycling gold, crash mars final". USA Today. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  7. "China's Guo makes triple-gold Games history". Global Times. 18 November 2010. Archived from the original on 19 October 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
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