Suzuki Stage 2

[subtleagent]

When they digested this I was annoyed. When they put it on YouTube, I was still annoyed that they digested history, but am now happy that they showed it. Honestly, his run here was pretty good considering he never attempted the Rolling Log before. Though I feel like he also would've timed out on this Stage 2 in 38 (hell he timed out in Stage 1 that tournament and barely cleared a similar one this time around).

[sasukewarrior333]

Man that oldest Stage 1 Clear is just waiting to get destroyed at this point. How it hasn't been broken yet with the current line up is nothing short of a miracle for Kiyomi.

[dakohosu]

Suzuki’s really inconsistent in that he seems to clear Stage 1 every other tournament, and even with Stage 2 he had a really rocky run in 37 which was a way easier course and this time seemed to have no trouble whatsoever. Just to clarify I’m definitely not saying he got lucky this time round, he’s clearly a really skilled and dedicated competitor, rather he’s prone to mistakes and time issues and this time just managed to pull through.

You’re right though; given that he only cleared with about 5 seconds left he probably would’ve either timed out on 38’s iteration or failed the Salmon Ladder given that even with the nerfed log he had to spend a good 10 seconds clearing his head.

On the topic of the Stage 1 clear age record I just feel like we’ve been really unlucky in terms of no one being able to break through past 44. Pretty much every competitor who had a fighting chance seemed to retire JUST before that age. Okuyama who would no doubt have broken the record due to his consistency had it not been for his injury in 29, and he retired at 43. Kongu and Lee retired at 42-43 (if you count international competitions) and they could’ve easily cleared Stage 1 again. Hiromichi Sato, who for all the hate he gets, was hella athletic for someone in his 40s (clearing the KuroOvi course at 49 no less), retired at 44. Nagano narrowly missed tying the record in 32. Takeda even broke the record but let’s not get into that fiasco..... I suppose it makes sense, once you’ve hit your athletic potential and start to decline it’s really hard to stay engaged as well as increasing career and family commitments in your 40s.

That said I feel like we’re now starting to get a new wave of competitors in their 40s who are continuing to train hard and compete with no signs of slowing down. I can’t see Hioki, Suzuki, or Yuuji retiring anytime soon so I guarantee at least one of them will break the age record. Yuuji’s 44 this year and can still keep up with if not exceed the skills of the youngsters so my money’s on him. Obviously he’s a two time champion so that’s quite unsurprising but he’s still going like he was in his early 30s, whereas Nagano at 40 vs 30 was night and day.

[azn]

I'm assuming this is gonna be their promotional strategy for the future, digest runs that shouldn't be digested, but upload them on YouTube. Idk how I feel about that but if there is one thing I could say, it is a good way to promote something historic on a more accessible platform like YouTube.