Top Athletes Mentor Youngsters at World Athletics Championships

As part of the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 (hereinafter the “WCH Oregon22”), held July 15–24 at the University of Oregon Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, USA, official IAAF and tournament partner TDK Corporation (TOKYO:6762) presented the fourth installment in its Rising Stars Clinic (RSC), a unique initiative that gives aspiring young athletes the opportunity to train with, and learn from, leading track and field competitors past and present.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220801005377/en/

Sinclaire Johnson, Valerie Adams, Trey Cunningham, and Ashton Eaton (from left) with their students on the TDK Rising Stars Clinic at WCH Oregon22. (Photo: Business Wire)

This time, the session was led by two current US athletes: WCH Oregon22 men’s 110m hurdles silver medalist Trey Cunningham, and Sinclaire Johnson, women’s 1500m gold medalist at the 2022 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships; plus two retired legends-turned RSC ambassadors: Ashton Eaton (USA), two-time men’s decathlon gold medalist at both the Summer Olympics and the World Athletics Championships, and Valerie Adams (New Zealand), four-time world and two-time Olympic champion in women’s shot put.

These elite sportspeople put 16 young participants from local athletics clubs through their paces, offering first-hand instruction on everything from warm-up exercises and stretches, to running technique. The day’s activities culminated in a 4x100m relay on the main track at the renowned Hayward Field, preceded by a behind-the-scenes tour that gave an authentic taste of the different stages that athletes go through on race day, including a spike check in the call room and team entrances accompanied by introductions from the stadium announcer. And just like top athletes, after running against a backdrop of prominently displayed TDK logos, the experience was completed with post-race interviews in the stadium’s mixed zone.

Comments from RSC Athletes and Ambassadors:

“It’s great that we were able to give these kids who are putting their all into athletics a little extra boost by showing them what we’ve been through to get to this point. And for me personally, it was very inspiring to get the chance to collaborate on an event like this with athletes from other disciplines.”

“Track and field is often associated with individual sports, but as well as coaching on fundamental running techniques, what I hope these children can take from today as they move forward with their lives in athletics is how relay is an event where you can learn so much from interacting with your teammates.”

“The behind-the-scenes tour gave a rare chance to experience the preparation that top athletes go through before a race, so as a track and field competitor myself, I’m really glad that we were able to give that opportunity to these fledgling future athletes.”

About Rising Stars Clinic

The Rising Stars Clinic is a program unique to TDK that reflects TDK’s communications slogan “Attracting Tomorrow.” It gives young athletes an opportunity to interact with top-class athletes and see them compete at the highest level in the IAAF World Championships. The program aims to inspire young athletes to become the next generation of top athletes and is aimed at students who have an interest in track and field.

About TDK Corporation

TDK Corporation is a world leader in electronic solutions for the smart society based in Tokyo, Japan. Built on a foundation of material sciences mastery, TDK welcomes societal transformation by resolutely remaining at the forefront of technological evolution and deliberately “Attracting Tomorrow.” It was established in 1935 to commercialize ferrite, a key material in electronic and magnetic products. TDK's comprehensive, innovation-driven portfolio features passive components such as ceramic, aluminum electrolytic and film capacitors, as well as magnetics, high-frequency, and piezo and protection devices. The product spectrum also includes sensors and sensor systems such as temperature and pressure, magnetic, and MEMS sensors. In addition, TDK provides power supplies and energy devices, magnetic heads and more. These products are marketed under the product brands TDK, EPCOS, InvenSense, Micronas, Tronics and TDK-Lambda. TDK focuses on demanding markets in automotive, industrial and consumer electronics, and information and communication technology. The company has a network of design and manufacturing locations and sales offices in Asia, Europe, and in North and South America. In fiscal 2021, TDK posted total sales of USD 13.3 billion and employed about 129,000 people worldwide.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220801005377/en/