Sprinter Yoshihide Kiryu tied his personal record of 10.01 seconds in the men's 100 meters on Saturday during the National Collegiate Individual Championships.
The 20-year-old logged the second-fastest time by a Japanese as he ran with a wind assistance of 1.8 meters per second in the semifinal at BMW Stadium. It came three years after he clocked the same time as a 17-year-old in May 2013 when he tied the then junior world record.
Koji Ito's 10.00 from 1998 remains Japan's best record with none yet to reach the sub-10 mark.
"It just happened to be three years ago. This time the run merited the time," said Kiryu, who won the final in 10.10 seconds running against a wind of 0.3 mph.
After marking the qualifying standard time of 10.01 for this summer's Olympics set by the Japan Association of Athletics Federations, Kiryu can clinch his spot in Rio de Janeiro if he comes in the top eight during the national championships in two weeks.
"I stumbled at the start (in the final) but I'm gradually picking up form ahead of the nationals and Rio de Janeiro," he said. "I want to be the fastest Japanese. It's important to win and get that (sub-10 record)."