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| Born | (1971-02-12)12 February 1971 (age 54) Hino, Tokyo,Japan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft6+1⁄2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 63 kg (139 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Current team | Retired | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Rider | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Professional teams | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005 | Sumita Ravanello Pearl Izumi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Bridgestone–Anchor | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2013 | Gruppo–Acqua–Tama | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Major wins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Japanese National Time Trial Championships (1998, 2004, 2005) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Makoto Iijima (飯島 誠,Iijima Makoto; born February 12, 1971) is a Japanese former professional road and track cyclist.[1] Considered one of Japan's most successful cyclists in his decade, Iijima has claimed a total of nine track cycling medals (two golds, three silver, and four bronze) at theAsian Championships, two silvers at theAsian Games (1998 and 2002), and three national time trial titles at theJapanese Championships (1998, 2004, and 2005). He also represented his nationJapan in three editions of the Olympic Games (2000, 2004, and 2008). He announced his retirement from professional cycling in October 2010 as a member of theBridgestone–Anchor team.[2][3]
Iijima was born inHino, Tokyo.
Despite earning his first career medal in road racing at the1998 Asian Games inBangkok, Thailand, Iijima made his official debut, as a 29-year-old, at the2000 Summer Olympics inSydney, where he finished sixteenth in themen's points race with a total score of six sprint points.[4]
At the2002 Asian Games inBusan, Iijima paired up withShinichi Fukushima to grab a silver medal in the men's madison on 11 points, trailing behind the South Korean duo Suh Seok-Kyu and 2000 OlympianCho Ho-Sung by an ample, twenty-seven point margin after ten intermediate sprint laps.[5] In the same year, he outsprinted his brother Noriyuki Iijima and Hong Kong'sWong Kam Po to take the men's points race title at theAsian Championships inBangkok, Thailand.
When he competed for the second time at the2004 Summer Olympics inAthens, Iijima managed to finish themen's points race successfully in sixteenth place with 13 points, matching his position from Sydney four years earlier in the process.[6]
Iijima turned professional as a road rider in 2005, and eventually stayed with Sumita Ravanello Pearl Izumi for one cycling season, before he left himself without a contract. He was also crowned the winnerJapanese National Time Trial Championships in the same year.
As a two-year free agent, Iijima redrafted his efforts to edge out Iran'sHossein Askari and Hong Kong'sCheung King Wai for his second career gold in the men's point race at the2006 Asian Cycling Championships inKuala Lumpur, Malaysia, adding a bronze in the men's time trial to his career resume. Later that year, at theAsian Games inDoha, Iijima narrowly missed the podium with a fourth-place finish in the points race (a total of ten) and sixth in the men's road race (3:45:05).
Eight years after his first Olympics, Iijima qualified for his third Japanese squad, as a 37-year-old and a cycling team captain, in themen's points race at the2008 Summer Olympics inBeijing by receiving a berth from theUCI Track World Rankings. Iijima picked up a total of 23 points, and lapped the field once to score a career-high eighth place in a 25-kilometre (16-mile) sprint race.[7][8] Strong results on his third Olympic bid landed him a spot on theBridgestone–Anchor pro cycling team for three annual seasons.[9]
At the2009 East Asian Games inMacau, Iijima delivered the Japanese foursome of Kazuo Inoue, Kazuhiro Mori and Hayato Yoshida a gold-medal time of 1:38:38.84 in the men's team time trial, finishing ahead of the Chinese team by more than two minutes.[10]
Time trial, National Road ChampionshipsTime trial, National Road ChampionshipsTime trial, National Road Championships
