is a Japanese former professional road and track cyclist. 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 the

Asian Championships An Asian Championship is a top level international sports competition between Asian athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. List of Championships (Summer Olympic Sports) ;Aquatics * Asia ...

, two silvers at the Asian Games (1998 and 2002), and three national time trial titles at the Japanese Championships (1998, 2004, and 2005). He also represented his nation Japan 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 the team.

Racing career

Iijima was born in

Hino, Tokyo 250px, Takahata Fudō in Hino is a city located in the western portion of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 187,048, and a population density of 6800 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Geography ...

Amateur years

Despite earning his first career medal in road racing at the

1998 Asian Games The 1998 Asian Games (), officially known as the 13th Asian Games and the XIII Asiad, was an Asian multi-sport event celebrated in Bangkok, Thailand from December 6 to 20, 1998, with 377 events in 36 sports and disciplines participated by 6,554 ...

Bangkok, Thailand Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

, Iijima made his official debut, as a 29-year-old, at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

in Sydney, where he finished sixteenth in the men's points race with a total score of six sprint points. At the 2002 Asian Games in

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, ...

, Iijima paired up with

Shinichi Fukushima is a Japanese former professional racing cyclist and directeur sportif, active in cycling between 1996 and 2018. Biography Born in Nagano Prefecture, Fukushima started cycling at Shinshu University and practised road racing in the Netherlands be ...

to grab a silver medal in the men's madison on 11 points, trailing behind the South Korean duo Suh Seok-Kyu and 2000 Olympian

Cho Ho-Sung Cho Ho-sung (born 15 June 1974) is a South Korean former cyclist, who currently works as the team manager for UCI Continental team . At the 2012 Summer Olympics, he competed in the men's omnium. References External links * South Korea ...

by an ample, twenty-seven point margin after ten intermediate sprint laps. In the same year, he outsprinted his brother Noriyuki Iijima and Hong Kong's

Wong Kam Po Wong Kam-po SBS MH (, born 13 March 1973) is a Hong Kong racing cyclist. A specialist in road bicycle racing, at age 34 he became a track cycling world champion in the scratch race of the 2007 World Championships, which was not his specialt ...

to take the men's points race title at the

. When he competed for the second time at the 2004 Summer Olympics in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Iijima managed to finish the men's points race successfully in sixteenth place with 13 points, matching his position from Sydney four years earlier in the process.

Professional career

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 winner

Japanese National Time Trial Championships The Japanese National Time Trial Championships are conducted every year under the auspices of the Japan Cycling Federation. The record is held by Kazuya Okazaki with 4 wins. Multiple winners (Men) Men Elite U23 Women Elite See also * Ja ...

in the same year. As a two-year free agent, Iijima redrafted his efforts to edge out Iran's

Hossein Askari Hossein Askari ( fa, حسین عسگری , born March 23, 1975, in Khomeyn) is an Iranian former professional racing cyclist, who competed professionally between 2005 and 2016 for the , , and teams. During his career, Askari was suspended for ...

and Hong Kong's Cheung King Wai for his second career gold in the men's point race at the 2006 Asian Cycling Championships in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, adding a bronze in the men's time trial to his career resume. Later that year, at the Asian Games in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the count ...

, 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 the men's points race at the 2008 Summer Olympics in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

by receiving a berth from the UCI 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 sprint race. Strong results on his third Olympic bid landed him a spot on the pro cycling team for three annual seasons. At the

2009 East Asian Games ) , Host city = Hong Kong , Teams participating = 9 , Athletes participating = 2,377 , Events = 262 events in 22 sports , Opening ceremony = December 5, 2009 , Closing ceremony = December 13, 2009 , Officially opened by = State Councilor ...

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...

, 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.

Major results

;1998 : 1st MaillotJapón

Time trial In many racing sports, an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athlete or team sets off at ...

, National Road Championships : 2nd Road race, Asian Games ;1999 : 2nd

, National Road Championships ;2001 : 1st Stage 4 Perlis Open ;2002 : Asian Track Championships ::1st Points race ::2nd Elimination race : 2nd Madison, Asian Games : 3rd Points race,

UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics The UCI Track Cycling World Cup (formerly known as the UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classics) is a multi race tournament held over a track cycling season - usually between October and February. Each series is divided into several rounds, each held i ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

;2003 : 2nd

, National Road Championships ;2004 : Asian Track Championships ::1st Points race ::2nd Elimination race : 1st MaillotJapón

, National Road Championships ;2005 : 1st MaillotJapón

, National Road Championships : Asian Track Championships ::3rd Points race ::3rd Team pursuit ;2006 :

Asian Cycling Championships The Asian Cycling Championships is an annual continental cycling championships for road bicycle racing and track cycling since 1963, exclusively for Asian cyclists selected by the national governing body (member nations of the Asian Cycling Confede ...

::1st Points race ::3rd Time trial :

Tour de East Java The Tour de East Java is a professional road bicycle racing stage race, that was held in East Java, Indonesia from 2005 to 2014. The race was sanctioned by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.2 category race as part of the UCI Asia Tour ...

::1st Stages 1 & 5 : 1st Stage 3

Tour de Kumano The is an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Mie Prefecture, Japan, named after Kumano. It was first created in 2006 as the amateur level, later moved up to the professional level in 2008 when included into the UCI Asia ...

: 1st Stage 3 Tour d'Indonesia : 2nd

, National Road Championships : Asian Games ::4th Points race ::6th Road race ;2007 : 1st Stage 1

Jelajah Malaysia The Jelajah Malaysia is an annual professional road bicycle racing stage race held in Malaysia since 1963. The race is part of the UCI Asia Tour and was classified by the International Cycling Union (UCI) as a 2.2 category races. The race exists ...

: 1st Stage 3 Tour de Kumano : Asian Track Championships ::2nd Madison ::3rd Points race ;2008 : 3rd Team pursuit, Asian Track Championships : 8th

Points race A points race is a mass start track cycling event involving large numbers of riders simultaneously on track. It was an Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 18 ...

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

;2009 : 1st Team time trial,

East Asian Games The East Asian Games was a multi-sport event organized by the East Asian Games Association (EAGA) and held every four years from 1993 to 2013. Among those who competed included athletes from East Asian countries and territories of the Olympic ...

: 1st Stage 1

: National Road Championships ::2nd

::7th Road race : 10th Overall

Tour de Okinawa The is an annual professional road bicycle racing classic one-day race held in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It was first started in 1989 as an amateur race, but became professional in 1999. It became part of the UCI Asia Tour The UCI Continental ...

;2010 : National Road Championships ::3rd

::8th Road race : 10th Points race,

UCI Track Cycling World Championships The UCI Track Cycling World Championships are the set of world championship events for the various disciplines and distances in track cycling. They are regulated by the Union Cycliste Internationale. Before 1900, they were administered by the UCI ...

;2012 : 8th JBCF Simofusa Criterium ;2013 : 2nd JBCF Makuhari Criterium

References

External links

NBC 2008 Olympics profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Iijima, Makoto 1971 births Living people Japanese male cyclists Japanese track cyclists Cyclists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 1994 Asian Games Cyclists at the 1998 Asian Games Cyclists at the 2002 Asian Games Cyclists at the 2006 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in cycling People from Hino, Tokyo Olympic cyclists for Japan Sportspeople from Tokyo Asian Games silver medalists for Japan Medalists at the 1998 Asian Games Medalists at the 2002 Asian Games