Aiming for Top 10 at World Championships, Matsumoto Wins Second-Straight Fuji Mountain Race Title

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2014/07/26/kiji/K20140726008632750.html

translated by Brett Larner

3980 people ran the July 25 Fuji Mountain Race's 67th edition in its Fifth Stage and Summit divisions. The men's Summit division winner was defending champion Dai Matsumoto (30, Salomon), who took his second-straight title in 2:47:45. Ruth Charlotte Croft (25, New Zealand) won the women's Summit division in 3:11:44.  Sho Matsumoto (28, Nikkei Business) was the men's Fifth Stage winner, with Yumiko Oishi (43) joining him on the podium in the women's race.

In his sixth time running the Fuji Mountain Race Dai Matsumoto was delighted to keep his place on top.  "People were gunning for me this year," he said of the pressure that pushed him to beat his own winning time from last year of 2:49:40.  A native of Gunma prefecture, his experience with mountain running dates back to his time at Maebashi H.S. and Gunma University where he competed in the event at the National Sports Festival.  He currently trains at Mt. Asama and competes as a professional mountain runner in "sky running" races.  His next major goal, he said with a smile, is, "to finish in the top ten at the sky race world championships two years from now."

The New Zealand-born Croft beat the runner-up in the women's Summit division by a commanding margin of more than 17 minutes.  "I wasn't very satisfied with last year's result [9th in 3:52:05]," she said of her motivation to give Mt. Fuji another go.  Based in Nepal for her training, Croft came back to the Fuji Mountain Race after running the Everest Ultra Marathon, where she finished 2nd in the foreign athlete division.  Her strategy of picking up the pace after reaching the Fifth Stage paid off well as she ran away from her competitors to snag the win.  "I'm really happy that I ran better than last year," she said with satisfaction.

Kawauchi Wins Fourth-Straight Kushiro Shitsugen 30 km

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/news/2014/07/28/kiji/K20140728008642240.html

translated and edited by Brett Larner

For the fourth-straight year, 2014 Asian Games men's marathon team member Yuki Kawauchi (27, Saitama Pref. Gov't) won the Kushiro Shitsugen 30 km road race Sunday in Kushiro, Hokkaido, beating the next athlete by over four minutes in 1:33:49.  Having struggled in the heat in the past. Kawauchi was pleased with race day temperatures under 20 degrees.  "I love it when it's cool," he said.  "It's hard to run 30 km and focus on quality or quantity back home in Saitama when it's 37 degrees there."  He also spoke against corporate teams' overseas high altitude training camps, saying, "I want to show that you can be successful in the marathon using a training regimen of short domestic training camps and racing here and abroad as an invited athlete."

World Junior Championships Day Six - Japanese Results

IAAF World Junior Championships Day Six
Eugene, U.S.A., 7/27/14
click here for complete results

Men's 4x400 m Relay Final
1. U.S.A. - 3:03.31
2. Japan - 3:04.11 - AJR
3. Jamaica - 3:04.47
4. Great Britain - 3:06.42
5. Australia - 3:06.80
6. Bahamas - 3:08.08
DQ - Botswana
DQ - South Africa

Men's 3000 mSC Final
1. Barnabas Kipyego (Kenya) - 8:25.57
2. Titus Kipruto Kibiego (Kenya) - 8:26.15
3. Evans Rutto Chematot (Bahrain) - 8:32.61
4. Soufiane Elbakkali (Morocco) - 8:34.98
5. Hailemariyam Amare (Ethiopia) - 8:42.00
-----
9. Kazuya Shiojiri (Japan) - 8:45.66

Men's Triple Jump Final
1. Lazaro Martinez (Cuba) - 17.13 m +0.7 - MR
2. Max Hess (Germany) - 16.55 m +1.4
3. Mateus de Sa (Brazil) - 16.47 m +1.5 - NJR
4. Andy Diaz (Cuba) - 16.43 m +2.1
5. Levon Aghasyan (Armenia) - 16.28 m +2.4
-----
7. Ryoma Yamaoto (Japan) - 15.89 m +0.9
9. Yugo Takahashi (Japan) - 15.76 m +0.3

Men's Javelin Throw Final
1. Gatis Cakss (Latvia) - 74.04 m
2. Matija Muhar (Slovenia) - 72.97 m
3. Andrian Mardare (Moldova) - 72.81 m
4. Jonas Bonewit (Germany) - 71.62 m
5. Shakeil Waithe (Trinidad and Tobago) - 70.78 m
-----
8. Shu Mori (Japan) - 69.73 m
10. Takuto Kominami (Japan) - 67.07 m

(c) 2014 Brett Larner
all rights reserved 

World Junior Championships Day Five - Japanese Results

IAAF World Junior Championships Day Five
Eugene, U.S.A., 7/26/14
click here for complete results

Men's 4x400 m Relay Heat 2
1. Japan - 3:05.40 - Q
2. Jamaica - 3:06.25 - Q
3. Bahamas - 3:07.03 - NJR - q
4. Germany - 3:10.75
5. Canada - 3:11.93
DQ - Puerto Rico

Men's 4x100 m Relay Final
1. U.S.A. - 38.70
2. Japan - 39.02
3. Jamaica - 39.12
4. China - 39.51 - NJR
5. Nigeria - 39.66
6. Trinidad and Tobago - 39.92
7. Australia - 40.09
DNF - Thailand

Women's 4x100 m Final
1. U.S.A. - 43.46
2. Jamaica - 43.97
3. Germany - 44.65
4. Trinidad and Tobago - 44.75
5. Switzerland - 45.02
6. Japan - 45.40
DQ - Bahamas
DNF - Brazil

(c) 2014 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

World Junior Championships Day Three - Japanese Results

by Brett Larner

Day three of competition at the IAAF World Junior Championships was a big one for Japan, with two individual medals and a near miss on a third.  In the men's 400 m Nobuya Kato and Kaisei Yui made history with their runs, the first time two Japanese athletes had qualified for a world-level final, and Kato took it one step further when he ran 46.17 for silver behind winner Machel Cedenio (Trinidad and Tobago).  Yui, who ran a PB 46.68 to make the final, was 7th in 47.08 between two American athletes. 

In the men's long jump, Shotaro Shiroyama (Japan) jumped 7.83 m to unexpectedly win bronze, with teammate Kodai Sakuma 5th in 7.71 m.  Chinese athletes Jianan Wang and Qing Lin went 1-2, Wang winning with a jump of 8.08 m.  In the women's 3000 m Nozomi Musembi Takamatsu, the daughter of Japanese and Kenyan parents, ran a 6-second PB of 9:02.85 but came up just over 2 more seconds short of the podium as she was beaten by American Mary Cain in 8:58.48 and Kenyans Lilian Kasait Rengeruk and Valentina Chepkwemoi Mateiko in 9:00.53 and 9:00.79.

Following Kato and Yui's feat of jointly making their final, Yuki Koike and Masaharu Mori duplicated the feat in the men's 200 m.  Koike ran 21.10 to win his opening heat, with Mori almost equalling him in 21.16 in the second heat.  Both advanced to the semi-finals, where Koike ran 20.66 for 2nd and Mori 20.71 for 3rd to both make the final.  Their added momentum built on the excitement of what is proving to be just about the best-ever Japanese team performance at the world level.  The World Junior Championships continue into the weekend.

IAAF World Junior Championships Day Three
Eugene, U.S.A., 7/24/14
click here for complete results

Women's 3000 m
1. Mary Cain (U.S.A.) - 8:58.48
2. Lilian Kasait Rengeruk (Kenya) - 9:00.53
3. Valentina Chepkwemoi Mateiko (Kenya) - 9:00.79
4. Nozomi Musembi Takamatsu (Japan) - 9:02.85
5. Etagegn Woldu (Ethiopia) - 9:06.42
6. Emine Hatun Tuna (Turkey) - 9:06.85
7. Jessica Hull (Australia) - 9:08.85
8. Weini Kelati (Eritrea) - 9:12.32
9. Gabriela Stafford (Canada) - 9:14.97
10. Anna Stefani (Italy) - 9:23.12
11. Nao Yamamoto (Japan) - 9:24.41

Men's 400 m Final
1. Machel Cedenio (Trinidad and Tobago) - 45.13
2. Nobuya Kato (Japan) - 46.17
3. Abbas Abubakar Abbas (Bahrain) - 46.20
4. Alexander Lerionka Sampao (Kenya) - 46.55
5. Jack Crosby (Great Britain) - 46.63
6. Lamar Brutton-Grinnage (U.S.A.) - 46.75
7. Kaisei Yui (Japan) - 47.08
8. Tyler Brown (U.S.A.) - 47.30

Men's 200 m Semi-Final 1 +1.9
1. Thomas Somers (Great Britain) - 20.37 - Q
2. Zharnel Hughes (Anguilla) - 20.38 - Q
3. Masaharu Mori (Japan) - 20.71 - q
4. Jonathan Farinha (Trinidad and Tobago) - 20.74 - q
5. Jevaughn Minzie (Jamaica) - 20.77
6. Kendal Williams (U.S.A.) - 21.10
7. Baboloki Thebe (Botswana) - 21.28
8. Luka Janezic (Slovenia) - 21.41

Men's 200 m Semi-Final 3 +1.8
1. Trentavis Friday (U.S.A.) - 20.35 - Q
2. Yuki Koike (Japan) - 20.66 - Q
3. Steven Gardiner (Bahamas) - 20.89
4. Jacopo Spano (Italy) - 20.98
5. Morten Dalgaard Madsen (Denmark) - 21.06 - NJR
6. Miguel Francis (Antigua) - 21.29
7. Jakub Matus (Slovakia) - 21.33

Men's 200 m Heat 1 -0.8
1. Yuki Koike (Japan) - 21.10 - Q
2. Baboloki Thebe (Botswana) - 21.37 - Q
3. Ousman Touray (Norway) - 21.49
4. Marcus Lawler (Ireland) - 21.58
5. Mobolade Ajomale (Canada) - 21.60
6. Julius Rivera (Puerto Rico) - 21.80
7. Ricardo Pereira (Portugal) - 21.88
8. Muhammed Asad ur Rehman Khan (Pakistan) - 22.55

Men's 200 m Heat 2 -0.1
1. Zharnel Hughes (Anguilla) - 20.87 - Q
2. Masaharu Mori (Japan) - 21.16 - Q
3. Jakub Matus (Slovakia) - 21.36 - q
4. Chris Stone (Great Britain) - 21.47
5. Levi Roche Mandji (Italy) - 21.63
6. Shu-Wei Huang (Taiwan) - 21.73
7. Roberto Luevano (Mexico) - 21.83

Women's 200 m Semi-Final 1 +2.5
1. Irene Ekelund (Sweden) - 22.97 - Q
2. Shannon Hylton (Great Britain) - 23.36 - Q
3. Natalliah Whyte (Jamaica) - 23.44 - q
4. Johanelis Herrera Abreu (Italy) - 23.76
5. Sarah Atcho (Switzerland) - 23.82
6. Raquel Tjernagel (Canada) - 23.90
7. Tomoka Tsuchihashi (Japan) - 24.08
8. Keianna Albury (Bahamas) - 24.17

Women's 200 m Heat 1 -1.8
1. Irene Ekelund (Sweden) - 23.47 - Q
2. Shannon Hylton (Great Britain) - 23.78 - Q
3. Tomoka Tsuchihashi (Japan) - 24.49 - Q
4. Ioana Gheorghe (Romania) - 24.56
5. Nigina Sharipova (Uzbekistan) - 24.68
6. Valeria Baron (Argentina) - 25.15
7. Leandry-Celeste Digombou (Gabon) - 30.00
DNF - Ewa Swoboda (Poland)

Women's 200 m Heat 5 +2.1
1. Kaylin Whitney (U.S.A.) - 23.31 - Q
2. Veronica Shanti Pereira (Singapore) - 23.87 - Q
3. Sarah Atcho (Switzerland) - 23.94 - Q
4. Keianna Albury (Bahamas) - 23.96 - q
5. Leya Buchanan (Canada) - 23.96 - q
6. Anna Doi (Japan) - 24.23
7. Loungo Mathlaku (Botswana) - 24.39

Men's 400 mH Semi-Final 1
1. Tim Holmes (U.S.A.) - 50.80 - Q
2. Jonas Hanssen (Germany) - 50.93 - Q
3. Yusuke Sakanashi (Japan) - 51.68
4. Luca Cacopardo (Italy) - 51.90
5. Jucian Rafael Pereira (Brazil) - 51.98
6. Lukas Hodbod (Czech Republic) - 52.75
7. Jordan Sherwood (Canada) - 53.41
8. Okeen Williams (Jamaica) - 56.37

Women's 400 mH Heat 4
1. Tia-Adana Belle (Barbados) - 59.05 - Q
2. Genekee Leith (Jamaica) - 59.59 - Q
3. Ashley Taylor (Canada) - 59.82 - Q
4. Lenka Svobodova (Czech Republic) - 59.97 - Q
5. Akiko Ito (Japan) - 1:00.06 - q
6. Julija Praprotnik (Slovenia) - 1:00.95
7. Talia Thompson (Bahamas) - 1:02.33

Men's Long Jump Final
1. Jianan Wang (China) - 8.08 m +1.5
2. Qing Lin (China) - 7.94 m +1.6
3. Shotaro Shiroyama (Japan) - 7.83 m +2.4
4. Travonn White (U.S.A.) - 7.72 m +2.3
5. Kodai Sakuma (Japan) - 7.71 m +1.7

Men's Pole Vault Qualification Group A
1. Adam Hague (Great Britain) - 5.20 m - q
2. Oleg Zernikel (Germany) - 5.20 m - q
2. Jack Hicking (Australia) - 5.20 m - q
4. Axel Chapelle (France) - 5.20 m - q
5. Luigi Colella (Italy) - 5.20 m - q
-----
11. Kota Suzuki (Japan) - 5.00 m

Women's Javelin Throw Final
1. Ekaterina Starygina (Russia) - 56.85 m
2. Sofi Flink (Sweden) - 56.70 m
3. Sara Kolak (Croatia) - 55.74 m
4. Marcelina Witek (Poland) - 54.74 m
5. Maria Andrejczyk (Poland) - 53.66 m
-----
9. Shiori Toma (Japan) - 50.72 m

(c) 2014 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Olympic Sprinter Yamagata Turns Down Corporate League Offers to Train in U.S. With Seiko Sponsorship

http://www.hochi.co.jp/sports/etc/20140723-OHT1T50329.html

translated by Brett Larner

On July 23 it was announced that London Olympics sprinter Ryota Yamagata (22, Keio Univ.) will join Seiko Holdings Corporation and be based in California, U.S.A.  Yamagata's decision was a big one, made in anticipation of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.  Turning down offers from many top corporate league teams, he entered into a sponsorship agreement with Seiko Holdings, manufacturers of watches and other precision mechanical equipment.

Seiko does not currently have a track and field team, but Yamagata intends to move to California by himself following his graduation next spring and as part of his agreement with Seiko, at his own request he will be responsible for choosing his coach, trainer, training location and environment himself.  "Maybe I could have gotten the best support somewhere else, but I want to open up new ways of doing things," he commented.  Having developed his training menus through his own study ever since high school, Yamagata's decision to go it alone comes as no surprise.  He plans to brush up his language skills from now until next spring.  "I'm okay when it comes to everyday conversation," he said.  "I just have to study more."

Seiko first became the official Olympic timekeeper 50 years ago at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.  As an official partner of the IAAF it is also the official timekeeper of the World Track and Field Championships, giving it a strong connection with the world of athletics.  "Yamagata will be 28 at the time of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and that will be the culmination of his career," said Keio University head coach Shintaro Kawai.  "After his retirement he will have the option of working at Seiko if he wants, which was also part of the decision."

In the 2012 London Olympics heats Yamagata ran 10.07, the fastest-ever by a Japanese athlete at the Olympics.  Following that he went through a period of injury, but expectations are still high that he will bring Japan its first sub-10.  By taking his game to one of track and field's great powers, Yamagata is aiming to go even further.

World Junior Championships Day Two - Japanese Results

by Brett Larner
photo courtesy of David Monti, Race Results Weekly

Asian junior record holder Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo Univ.) brought Japan its first medal of the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships, taking bronze in 10.34 (-0.6) behind Americans Kendal Williams and Trayvon Bromell.  Kiryu gave the nation a scare by barely making it to the final when he finished 4th in his semi-final.  In both the semi and final he displayed problems with the second half of his race, but what he had on the day proved enough for him to get on the podium and join past World Juniors medalists like Shota Iizuka and Genki Dean in the Japanese books.

Further history was made when both Nobuya Kato and Kaisei Yui got through the semis to make the men's 400 m final, the first time two Japanese athletes have ever made a world-level final.  Both won their opening heats yesterday.  In semi-final 1, Yui ran a PB 46.68 to get into the final on time.  Kato, running semi-final 2, came from far back in the last 100 m to win again in 46.26, the slowest of the three semi-winning times but looking like he had plenty in reserve for the final.

In the distance race of the day, Maki Izumida and Fuyuka Kimura initially took the women's 5000 m out in a replay of the men's 10000 m, running together on a realistic pace but quickly opening a big lead on a more lackadaisically-paced pack.  After Kimura's initial move Izumida led through 1000 m on 15:40 pace, just slower than her best and a moderate PB pace for Kimura, but the African chasers were quicker than the men to get to work and by 2000 m eventual winner Alemitu Heroye (Ethiopia) had taken over.  A 2:52.88 third kilometer put both Japanese athletes out of contention, but although Izumida advanced late in the race she came up just short of retaking the rear end of the all-African pack.  Heroye took gold in 15:10.08 just ahead of teammate Alemitu Hawi, silver in 15:10.46.  Kenyan Agnes Jebet Tirop picked up bronze in 15:43.12.  Izumida was only 6th in 15:55.26, but with Tirop slower than both Izumida's PB and opening pace on a different day it might have been another bronze for Japan.  Kimura was close behind in 8th in 15:59.72.

In the day's other final, Rena Goto and Kana Minemura performed at about the same level as Izumida and Kimura, taking 6th and 7th in the women's 10000 m race walk.  With winner Anezka Drahotova (Czech Republic) setting a world record of 42:47.25 and many others setting national junior records, both Goto and Minemura set new personal bests, Goto clocking 45:54.07 and Minemura 46:22.88.

Other qualifiers included Yusuke Sakanashi, who won his 400 mH heat in 52.46 to make the semi-final, men's long jumpers Shotaro Shiroyama and Kodai Sakuma, and men's high jumper Yu Nakazawa.  The IAAF World Junior Championships continue through Sunday.

IAAF World Junior Championships Day Two
Eugene, U.S.A., 7/23/14
click here for complete results

Women's 5000 m
1. Alemitu Heroye (Ethiopia) - 15:10.08
2. Alemitu Hawi (Ethiopia) - 15:10.46
3. Agnes Jebet Tirop (Kenya) - 15:43.12
4. Stella Chesang (Uganda) - 15:53.85 - NJR
5. Loice Chemnung (Kenya) - 15:55.17
6. Maki Izumida (Japan) - 15:55.26
7. Courtney Powell (Australia) - 15:56.00
8. Fuyuka Kimura (Japan) - 15:59.72
9. Julian Forsey (Canada) - 16:02.55
10. Darya Maslova (Kyrgyzstan) - 16:07.58

Men's 400 m Semi-Final 1
1. Tyler Brown (U.S.A.) - 45.97 - Q
2. Alexander Lerionka Sampao (Kenya) - 46.21 - Q
3. Kaisei Yui (Japan) - 46.68 - q
4. Elliot Rutter (Great Britain) - 46.93
5. Oleksiy Pozdnyakov (Ukraine) - 47.43
6. Batuhan Altintas (Turkey) - 47.46
7. Joshua Robinson (Australia) - 47.72
8. Karabo Sibanda (Botswana) - 48.30

Men's 400 m Semi-Final 2
1. Nobuya Kato (Japan) - 46.26 - Q
2. Abbas Abubakar Abbas (Bahrain) - 46.28 - Q
3. Jack Crosby (Great Britain) - 46.35 - q
4. Luka Janezic (Slovenia) - 47.06
5. Warren Hazel (St. Kitts-Nevis) - 47.22
6. Janeko Cartwright (Bahamas) - 47.88
7. Martin Manley (Jamaica) - 48.38
DNF - Jamal Walton (Cayman Islands)

Men's 100 m Final -0.6
1. Kendal Williams (U.S.A.) - 10.21
2. Trayvon Bromell (U.S.A.) - 10.28
3. Yoshihide Kiryu (Japan) - 10.34
4. Levi Cadogan (Barbados) - 10.39
5. Cejhae Greene (Antigua and Barbuda) - 10.43
6. Ojie Edoburun (Great Britain) - 10.45
7. Andre Azonwanna (Canada) - 10.46
8. Jonathan Farinha (Trinidad and Tobago) - 10.47

Men's 100 m Semi-Final 1 +0.0
1. Trayvon Bromell (U.S.A.) - 10.29 - Q
2. Levi Cadogan (Barbados) - 10.31 - Q
3. Ojie Edoburun (Great Britain) - 10.36 - q
4. Yoshihide Kiryu (Japan) - 10.38 - q
5. Austin Hamilton (Sweden) - 10.64
6. Sydney Siame (Zambia) - 10.68
7. Michael O'Hara (Jamaica) - 10.69
8. Luca Antonio Cassano (Italy) - 10.70

Men's 100 m Semi-Final 2 -0.3
1. Cejhae Greene (Antigua and Barbuda) - 10.39 - Q
2. Jonathan Farinha (Trinidad and Tobago) - 10.41 - Q
3. Jevaughn Minzie (Jamaica) - 10.43
4. Takuya Kawakami (Japan) - 10.47
5. Youxue Mo (China) - 10.47
6. Morten Dalgaard Madsen (Denmark) - 10.48
7. Thando Roto (South Africa) - 10.61
8. Aykut Ay (Turkey) - 10.62

Women's 100 m Semi-Final 3 +0.9
1. Kayline Whitney (U.S.A.) - 11.44 - Q
2. Ewa Swoboda (Poland) - 11.51 - Q
3. Keianna Albury (Bahamas) - 11.76
4. Kedisha Dallas (Jamaica) - 11.77
5. Anna Doi (Japan) - 11.84
6. Floriane Gnafoua (France) - 11.88
7. Aaliyah Telesford (Trinidad and Tobago) - 11.94
8. Natasha Brown (Canada) - 12.02

Men's 400 mH Heat 4
1. Yusuke Sakanashi (Japan) - 52.46 - Q
2. Okeen Williams (Jamaica) - 52.88 - Q
3. Jordan Sherwood (Canada) - 53.04 - q
4. Javier Delgado (Spain) - 53.92
5. Sang-Hyeok Kwon (South Korea) - 55.13
6. Oneyker Aragon (Nicaragua) - 57.41 - NJR
DQ - Ned Justeen Azemia (Seychelles)
DQ - Sid-Ali Khedim (Algeria)

Men's 110 mH Semi-Final 1 -1.6
1. Wilhem Belocian (France) - 13.23 - Q
2. Nick Anderson (U.S.A.) - 13.68 - Q
3. Taio Kanai (Japan) - 13.85
4. Roger Iribarne (Cuba) - 13.87
5. Gabriel Constantino (Brazil) - 13.93
6. Ivor Metcalf (Australia) - 13.94
7. David Franco (Venezuela) - 13.98
8. Job Beintema (Netherlands) - 14.10

Men's 110 mH Semi-Final 3 -1.7
1. Tyler Mason (Jamaica) - 13.45 - Q
2. Welington Zaza (Liberia) - 13.53 - Q
3. Patrick Elger (Germany) - 13.84
4. Valdo Szucs (Hungary) - 13.93
5. Theophile Viltz (U.S.A.) - 14.02
6. Masahiro Kagimoto (Japan) - 14.04
7. Kirk Lewis (Bahamas) - 14.05
8. Ricardo Torres (Puerto Rico) - 14.34

Women's 10000 m Race Walk
1. Anezka Drahotova (Czech Republic) - 42:47.25 - WJR
2. Na Wang (China) - 44:02.64
3. Yuanyuan Ni (China) - 44:16.72
4. Laura Garcia-Caro (Spain) - 44:32.84 - NJR
5. Maria Perez (Spain) - 44:57.30
6. Rena Goto (Japan) - 45:54.07
7. Kana Minemura (Japan) - 46:22.88
8. Stefany Coronado (Bolivia) - 46:42.06 - NJR
9. Jessica Hancco (Peru) - 46:47.31 - NJR
10. Viktoryia Rashchupkina (Belarus) - 47:00.30
DQ - Eliska Drahotova (Czech Republic)

Men's Long Jump Qualification Group A
1. Jianan Wang (China) - 7.93 m - Q
2. Jose Luis Despaigne (Cuba) - 7.61 m - q
3. Shotaro Shiroyama (Japan) - 7.55 m - q
4. Yasser Triki (Algeria) - 7.35 m - q
5. Laquan Nairn (Bahamas) - 7.29 m

Men's Long Jump Qualification Group B
1. Qing Lin (China) - 7.62 m - q
2. Travonn White (U.S.A.) - 7.50 m - q
3. Kodai Sakuma (Japan) - 7.38 m - q
4. Thobias Nilsson-Montler (Sweden) - 7.37 m - q
5. Harold Barruecos (Italy) - 7.36 m - q

Men's High Jump Qualification Group A
1. Tobias Potye (Germany) - 2.14 m - q
1. Joel Baden (Australia) - 2.14 m - q
1. Mikhail Akimenko (Russia) - 2.14 m - q
4. Christoff Bryan (Jamaica) - 2.14 m - q
5. Andrei Skabeika (Belarus) - 2.14 m - q
6. Yu Nakazawa (Japan) - 2.14 m - q
7. Yeoryios Tessaromatis (Greece) - 2.10 m - q

Men's High Jump Qualification Group B
1. Sanghyeok Woo (South Korea) - 2.14 m - q
1. Falk Wendrich (Germany) - 2.14 m - q
1. Daniel Lysenko (Russia) - 2.14 m - q
4. Dzmitry Nakokau (Belarus) - 2.14 m - q
4. Chris Kandu (Great Britain) - 2.14 m - q
6. Clayton Brown (Jamaica) - 2.10 m - q
-----
11. Daisuke Nakajima (Japan) - 2.00 m

text (c) 2014 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
photo (c) 2014 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved

World Junior Championships Day One - Japanese Results

by Brett Larner

The men's 10000 m rounded out the day as the only final on the first day of competition at the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships in Eugene, U.S.A.  After a slow first lap Keisuke Nakatani of 2013 National University Ekiden champion Komazawa University went to the front to get the race moving, tailed only by 2014 Hakone Ekiden winner Toyo University's Hazuma Hattori.  Ranked 6th and 7th in the field by PB, the two Japanese athletes, both stage winners at January's Hakone Ekiden, were initially ignored by the faster Africans, allowing them to open a lead that at one point maxed at around 100 m.  Despite the gap, the pair's pace was never unrealistic as Nakatani held close to 29:10 pace, roughly 20 second slower than his best.  His projected finishing time based on his splits through 6000 m show how steadily he ran:

1000 m: 29:18.70

2000 m: 29:15.55

3000 m: 29:13.57

4000 m: 29:09.53

5000 m: 29:10.54

6000 m: 29:11.73

The slight surge between 3 and 4000 m severed the connection between the two as Hattori began to drop back, and at roughly the same time a group of the top Africans detached from the relatively placid chase pack and set off in pursuit.  By 7000 m eventual winner Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei (Uganda), the only sub-28 athlete in the field, had run both down and taken the lead.  In a battle over the last kilometer Cheptegei dropped Kenyans Elvis Kipchoge Cheboi and Nicholas Mboroto Kosimbei for the win in 28:32.86, both Cheboi and Kosimbei clearing 28:40.  Nakatani crossed the line in 7th in 29:11.40, less than a second off his pace at halfway, with Hattori running a slight negative split for 8th in 29:12.74.  With only one runner seeded lower than them, Eritrean Afewerki Berhane who took 4th in a >1 minute PB of 28:45.83, finishing ahead of them it was a decent showing by both Japanese collegiates.

In heats and qualifying action:

• Both Nobuya Kato and Kaisei Yui won their heats in the men's 400 m to advance to the semi-final, Kato recording the fastest time of the day in 46.23.
• Yoshihide Kiryu, a teammate of Hattori's at Toyo University, won his 100 m heat in 10.40 (-0.5), with Takuya Kawakami also advancing in 10.46 (+1.4). 
• An Olympian in high school, Anna Doi was the only Japanese woman to advance in the 100 m as she finished 2nd in her heat in 11.65 (+1.4).
• Both Masahiro Kagimoto and Taio Kanai advanced in the men's 110 mH, each finishing 3rd in his heat.
• Shiori Toma squeaked into the women's javelin final, finishing 12th among 12 qualifiers with a throw of 51.64 m.

The World Junior Championships continue tomorrow.

IAAF World Junior Championships Day One
Eugene, U.S.A., 7/22/14
click here for complete results

Men's 10000 m
1. Joshua Kiprui Cheptegei (Uganda) - 28:32.86
2. Elvis Kipchoge Cheboi (Kenya) - 28:35.20
3. Nicholas Mboroto Kosimbei (Kenya) - 28:38.68
4. Afewerki Berhane (Eritrea) - 28:45.83 - PB
5. Abdallah Kibet Mande (Uganda) - 28:53.77
6. Yihunilign Adane (Ethiopia) - 28:54.84
7. Keisuke Nakatani (Japan) - 29:11.40
8. Hazuma Hattori (Japan) - 29:12.74
9. Robleh Djama Aden (Djibouti) - 29:43.49 - NJR
10. Carlos Mayo (Spain) - 29:52.31 - PB

Women's 800 m Heat 2
1. Georgia Wassall (Australia) - 2:05.69 - Q
2. Dureti Edao (Ethiopia) - 2:06.15 - Q
3. Alina Ammann (Germany) - 2:06.91 - Q
4. Asli Arik (Turkey) - 2:07.26
5. Charlotte Mouchet (France) - 2:07.38
6. Maria Pia Fernandez (Uruguay) - 2:10.97
7. Ryoko Hirano (Japan) - 2:11.99

Men's 400 m Heat 2
1. Kaisei Yui (Japan) - 47.06 - Q
2. Karabo Sibanda (Botswana) - 47.96 - Q
3. Nathon Allen (Jamaica) - 48.06 - Q
4. Sonwabiso Skhosana (South Africa) - 48.16
5. Wei-Hsu Wang (Taiwan) - 48.61
6. Graeme Thompson (Canada) - 49.01
7. Hussain Riza (Moldova) - 52.42

Men's 400 m Heat 3
1. Nobuya Kato (Japan) - 46.23 - Q
2. Lamar Bruton-Grinnage (U.S.A.) - 46.74 - Q
3. Oleksiy Pozdnyakov (Ukraine) - 47.18 - Q
4. Joshua Cunningham (Canada) - 47.40 - q
5. Leungo Scotch (Botswana) - 47.81
6. Brandon Valentine-Parris (Saint Vincent & Grenadines) - 48.36 - NJR
7. Luatimu Samau (Samoa) - 56.71

Women's 100 m Heat 3 +0.4
1. Vitoria Cristina Rosa (Brazil) - 11.60 - Q
2. Tebogo Mamathu (South Africa) - 11.75 - Q
3. Aaliyah Telesford (Trinidad and Tobago) - 11.81 - Q
4. Evelyn Rivera (Colombia) - 12.17
5. Sayaka Adachi (Japan) - 12.24
6. Alexandra Toth (Austria) - 12.26
7. Adrine Monagi (Papua New Guinea) - 12.79
DQ - Angela Tenorio (Ecuador)

Women's 100 m Heat 7 +1.4
1. Kaylin Whitney (U.S.A.) - 11.48 - Q
2. Anna Doi (Japan) - 11.65 - Q
3. Eva Berger (France) - 11.75 - Q
4. Lisa Marie Mwayie (Germany) - 11.95
5. Aila Del Ponte (Switzerland) - 11.99
6. Larissa Chambers (Australia) - 12.05
7. Quashira McIntosh (Virgin Islands) - 12.44

Men's 100 m Heat 2 +1.4
1. Jevaughn Minzie (Jamaica) - 10.32 - Q
2. Josh Clarke (Australia) - 10.36 - Q
3. Takuya Kawakami (Japan) - 10.46 - Q
4. Austin Hamilton (Sweden) - 10.56 - q
5. Amanuel Abebe (Ethiopia) - 10.99
6. Faresa Kapisi (American Samoa) - 11.66

Men's 100 m Heat 7 -0.5
1. Yoshihide Kiryu (Japan) - 10.40 - Q
2. Yaniel Carrero (Cuba) - 10.58 - Q
3. Aykut Ay (Turkey) - 10.71 - Q
4. Samuli Samuelsson (Finland) - 10.78
5. Sebastian Schurman (Germany) - 10.85
6. Quentin Leguay (Monaco) - 12.40
DNF - Cajuniba Okirua (Cook Islands)

Men's 110 mH Heat 3 -0.2
1. Nick Anderson (U.S.A.) - 13.61 - Q
2. Valdo Szucs (Hungary) - 13.66 - Q
3. Masahiro Kagimoto (Japan) - 13.68 - Q
4. Ricardo Torres (Puerto Rico) - 13.71 - q - NJR
5. Joshuan Berrios (Colombia) - 13.99
6. Arasy Akbar Witarsa (Indonesia) - 14.21
7. Yakubu Ibrahim (Ghana) - 14.61 - NJR
8. Gaston Sayago (Argentina) - 16.92

Men's 110 mH Heat 7 +0.6
1. Marvin Williams (Jamaica) - 13.71 - Q
2. Francisco Lopez (Spain) - 13.75 - Q
3. Taio Kanai (Japan) - 13.81 - Q
4. Chih-Hao Lin (Taiwan) - 14.00
5. Dawid Zebrowski (Poland) - 14.04
6. Francisco Lopez (Chile) - 14.36
7. Kin-Lok Fung (Hong Kong) - 14.43
8. Dongmin Shin (Korea) - 14.73 - NJR

Women's Long Jump Qualification Group B
1. Nadia Akpana Assa (Norway) - 6.39 m - Q - NJR
2. Akela Jones (Barbados) - 6.32 m - Q
3. Rogui Sow (France) - 6.19 m - q
4. Genesis Romero (Venezuela) - 6.17 m - q
5. Maryse Luzolo (Germany) - 6.15 m - q
6. Quanesha Burks (U.S.A.) - 6.12 m - q
-----
11. Yumi Uchinokura (Japan) - 5.77 m

Women's Javelin Throw Qualification Group A
1. Maria Andrejczyk (Poland) - 56.23 m - Q
2. Sofi Flinck (Sweden) - 56.04 m - Q
3. Tereza Vytlacilova (Czech Republic) - 53.06 m - Q
4. Marie-Therese Obst (Norway) - 52.59 m - q
5. Kiho Kuze (Japan) - 51.55 m

Women's Javelin Throw Qualification Group B
1. Marcelina Witek (Poland) - 55.78 m - Q
2. Ekaterina Starygina (Russia) - 54.80 m - Q
3. Christine Winkler (Germany) - 53.06 m - Q
4. Simona Dobilaite (Lithuania) - 52.43 m - q
5. Sara Kolak (Croatia) - 51.88 m - q
6. Arantza Moreno (Spain) - 51.67 m - q
7. Edivania Araujo (Brazil) - 51.64 m - q
8. Shiori Toma (Japan) - 51.64 m - q

(c) 2014 Brett Larner
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