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Six Olympic Hopefuls to Attend Women's Marathon Training Camp in Chitose

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, …
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Six University Meet Cancels 5000 m Because It Was Just Too Damned Hot

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
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Weekend Track Highlights

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…
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World U20 Championships Day Six Japanese Results

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…
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Ejima Bronze - World U20 Championships Day Five Japanese Results

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…
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Kora Lands Silver - World U20 Championships Day Four Japanese Results

Two-time national high school champion Ayaka Kora kept Japan's medal count moving on Day Three of the Tampere World U20 Championships with a silver in the women's long jump. A 6.37 m (+1.2  m/s) on her second attempt was good enough to move her into the silver position behind only Germany's Lea-Jasmin Riecke, whose PB of 6.51 m (+0.4 m/s) on her own second attempt gave her the top spot. There the two remained through the rest of the final, American Tara Davis giving Kora a bit of a scare on her final attempt with a jump of 6.36 (+0.0 m/s) that earned Davis bronze.



The women's 3000 m steeplechase final was the only other final to feature a Japanese athlete. Already having moved in the all-time #4 Japanese U20 position in the heats, Manami Nishiyama improved on that with a 10:00.49 for 9th, well out of the medals but just missing a JAAF-coveted top eight position. After her performance Matsuyama University, where Nishiyama is a student, now owns five of the ten fastest …
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Izumiya Takes Hurdles Bronze - World U20 Championships Day Three Japanese Results

After yesterday's solid haul of gold and silver medals, Shunsuke Izumiya added a bronze medal to the mix in the men's 110 m hurdles at the World U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland. Quick out of the blocks, Izumiya led the first few hurdles before being caught by Jamaican duo Damion Thomas and Orlando Bennett. But a PB run of 13.38 was enough to keep Izumiya in the medals, the only one of the day for Japan.

In the two other finals with Japanese athletes, Ayaka Kawata took 6th in the women's 800 m in 2:03.57 well back from the championships record 1:59.74 by gold medalist Diribe Welteji of Ethiopia. Maki Saito took 8th in the women's discus throw with a mark of 50.10 m, both she and Kawata factoring into the JAAF's target number of top eight placers.

No Japanese athletes made it through the day's semifinals, both Keigo Yasuda and Koji Ueyama stopped there in the men's 200 m and Moeka Sekimoto likewise not advancing out of the women's 400 m hurdles sem…
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Inside Running Podcast - Brett Larner

An interview with Australia's Inside Running Podcast.


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