It feels like track phenom Yoshihide Kiryu has been in the spotlight longer than he has been. But his breakout year was 2013, which is, of course, this year.
Yes, it was only seven months ago that many first heard this teenager's name. Kiryu, 17, ran 10.01 seconds in the men's 100 meters semifinals at the Mikio Oda Memorial Meet on April 29. That time was Japan's second-fastest ever and the world junior record (the latter status was later removed by the IAAF because the Japan Association of Athletics Federations didn't use the proper anemometer).
From then on, everybody noticed Kiryu, and not just inside Japan but outside too. The world's top sprinters, including Usain Bolt and Tyson Gay, acknowledged him, and a lot of international track fans began talking about the student of Kyoto's Rakunan High School. The BBC website ran a feature on him during the summer.