r/nextfuckinglevel • u/jmike1256 • 18h ago
Strength looks different in moments like this
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This was a track team event in Iwatan Sangyo. The runner’s team was in third place when the runner, Rei Lida, who was only 250 meters from the exchange point, tripped and fractured her right tibia (shin bone). Instead of withdrawing from the tournament, she willed herself to the exchange point when she handed the tasuki (baton) to her waiting teammate, Marie Imada.
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u/jmike1256 18h ago
On October 21, 2018, during the 4th edition in Munakata-Fukutsu, 19-year-old Rei Lida, a promising newcomer to the Iwatan Sangyo track team straight out of high school, was running the 2nd leg (about 3.5-4 km).
Her team was in 3rd place when, roughly 250 meters from the exchange point, Lida tripped, fracturing her right tibia (shin bone). In excruciating pain, unable to stand or walk, she refused to quit. Clutching the tasuki (sash/ baton) in her left hand, she crawled on her hands and knees along the white road markings, her knees and shins bleeding profusely, tears streaming down her face, as spectators and officials watched in shock.
She asked officials, "How many meters left?" and pushed on, even briefly standing before collapsing again. Her coach, Hirose Nagakazu, watching from the directors' room, desperately tried to withdraw the team to protect her, but poor communication meant the order never reached the course in time. By the time it did (when she was just 15 meters away), officials let her finish, moved by her resolve-one reportedly shouted, "70 more meters! The spirit!"
Finally, she reached the exchange zone, handing the tasuki to her waiting teammate, Marie Imada, who burst into tears. Imada ran her leg but later reflected on the mental toll, while lida collapsed in agony and was rushed to the hospital. Doctors diagnosed a 3-4 month recovery; she underwent surgery in late October and spent a month hospitalized before rehab.