japan running news

On July 19 the Japan Anti-Doping Agency (JADA) announced that distance runner Moeno Nakamura, 28, a former member of the Universal Entertainment women's ekiden team, had tested positive for the muscle tone-improving steroid metenolone during in-competition testing at last November's National Corporate Women's Ekiden, which Universal Entertainment won. As a result of the positive test Nakamura, who has already left the team, will be suspended for one year and three months and have her result at the ekiden annulled.

According to the JADA announcement, two months before the ekiden Nakamura underwent surgical treatment for a gynecological condition. Subsequent injections she received included the prohibited substance. JADA accepted her explanation that these were for post-operative therapeutic purposes but ruled her negligent in not having told her doctor that she was an athlete and in not confirming the contents of the injections.

In a statement released through Universal En…

On July 18 it was learned from several sources connected with the situation that a member of the 2017 National Corporate Women's Ekiden champion team Universal Entertainment who left the team at the end of last season tested positive for a banned substance in a doping test carried out at the ekiden. Universal Entertainment won the national championship race, its second-ever title and first in five years. But because the athlete's result will be annulled the team will also be stripped of its title, an unprecedented situation in the ekiden's history.

According to an involved source, before the race the athlete took her own personal medicine which included the prohibited substance. The athlete denied having taking the medicine in order to enhance her performance. Team management claimed the athlete had not informed then that she was taking it, and that the situation was the result of her personal carelessness.

The Universal Entertainment team was founded under the name Aruze…

In preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the JAAF will hold a 10-day women's marathon training camp in Chitose, Hokkaido from July 27 to August 5. It is the first time for the city of Chitose to host a JAAF training camp since it was selected as the site for the Japanese national team's pre-Tokyo Olympics base. Six athletes including 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympian Mai Ito will take part, with the program scheduled to include running classes with local amateur runners.

The six athletes identified as high-level in the marathon and long distance and invited to participate in the program are Ito, Yuka Ando, Hanami Sekine, Yukari Abe, Mao Ichiyama and Miyuki Uehara. Along with them, a staff of sixteen support personnel will also take part. Conceived of as a simulation of the Tokyo Olympics, the camp takes place at the same time and for the same number of days as it will two years from now before the main event. The athletes will train at Aoba Field, on the 3.6 km Aoba Park loop, …

The 31st annual Six University Track and Field Meet, a competition between Tokai University, Nittai University, Juntendo University, Nihon University, Tsukuba University and Chukyo University, took place this holiday weekend at Chiba Sports Park Field in Chiba. Facing afternoon temperatures climbing over 35 degrees, organizers made the decision to cancel the men's 5000 m scheduled for 3:25 p.m.

 In its place, an unofficial time trial was held later at 5:30 p.m. Despite the two-hour difference the temperature at the start was still 31 degrees. Tsukuba University second-year Kento Nishi finished first in the time trial in 14:48 after taking the lead with two laps to go. Wiping sweat from his face post-race Nishi said, "I don't think 14:48 was too bad in this kind of heat."

source article:
https://www.hochi.co.jp/sports/etc/20180714-OHT1T50165.html
translated and edited by Brett Larner

Distance action at the senior level was split between three main meets this weekend. One contingent of Japanese women and men headed to Europe for a mini tour of the circuit, starting things off Saturday at Belgium's Kortrijkse Guildensporenmeeting. One of Japan's top current half marathoners, Mao Ichiyama (Wacoal) ran a season best 15:36.11 for 4th in the women's 5000 m to lead the five Japanese women in the race. National XC runner-up Kosei Yamaguchi (Aisan Kogyo) led the Japanese men in the 3000 m SC in 8:37.81. The popular Hazuma Hattori (Toenec) was the fastest Japanese man in the 1500 m at 3:45.17, with Nokoka Hosaka (Tokyo Nogyo Univ.) delivering the fastest Japanese women's time at 4:25.40.

Also Saturday back home in Hokkaido, the Hokuren Distance Challenge series wrapped up with the Shibetsu meet. Women's 5000 m A-heat winner Yuka Hori (Panasonic) was just off Ichiyama's Belgian time in 15:37.51 just ahead of Honami Maeda (Tenmaya), who continued a gr…

Only two Japanese athletes were in action on the final day of the World U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland.

In the men's 3000 m steeplechase, Waseda University's Takumi Yoshida ran a PB of 8:50.99 for 5th, well out of medals but outkicking Italy's Giovanni Gatto to finish as the first runner born outside east Africa. "This was a race that showed me where there are still problems, and I will work on improving them," he wrote on Twitter afterwards. "Thank you to everyone who has helped me come this far."

In the women's 1500 m final, Asian Junior 1500 m gold medalist Ririka Hironaka, a senior at Nagasaki Shogyo H.S., finished 11th out of the twelve starters in 4:21.31. With two gold medals, two silvers and two bronzes and eleven top 8 placings at the end of the Championships Japan ranked 8th in the final medal count, its second-best showing ever and a mark of encouragement with just two years to go until the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
World U20 Champions…

6th in the men's pole vault two years ago, Masaki Ejima kept Japan's medal streak at the Tampere World U20 Championships alive with a bronze medal on the fifth day of competition. Both Ejima and silver medalist Zachery Bradford of the U.S.A. cleared 5.55 m on their third attempts and failed to clear 5.60, but as Ejima had struggled at 5.40 m the silver went to Bradford, who had cleared it with ease. Gold went to Armand Duplantis, who set a new championships record of 5.82 m.

A highly-anticipated medal failed to materialize in the men's 4x100 m, where the Japanese squad finished out of the medals by an agonizing 0.01 behind Germany, running in the top three throughout the race but outleaned at the line. Both the U.S.A. and Jamaica went under 39 seconds for gold and silver.  Another near-miss came in the women's 10000 m racewalk, where Nanako Fujii set a PB of 45:08.68 but came only 4th. In both the men's 10000 m racewalk and men's high jump Japan scored top eig…