Skip to main content

Tosa Named Athlete of the Year by Japanese National Track and Field Association

http://www.sponichi.co.jp/sports/flash/KFullFlash20071226041.html
http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2007122600835

Photo of Tosa, Fukushi and Noguchi at the Rikuren Awards in Tokyo, Dec. 26, 2007.

translated and edited by Brett Larner

Rikuren, the JAAF, held its 1st annual Athletics Awards on Dec. 26 in Tokyo. In attendance were 3 women who each have a chance to win the gold medal in the Beijing Olympics women`s marathon.

Reiko Tosa (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) was named Athlete of the Year for her bronze medal performance in the women`s marathon at the World Championships, a run which has already secured Tosa a place on the Olympic team. "The home-country support I received from everyone during the Osaka World Championships truly pushed me to make the medals. I will do my best in Beijing to run a good race," Tosa told the audience with characteristic nervousness during her acceptance speech.

Also honored for her victory at the Tokyo International Women`s Marathon was Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex), who is almost certain to be named to the team. Tosa commented, "I don`t know whether Noguchi is my rival or ally. She is the [Athens Olympics] gold medalist and I am the challenger," couching her competitiveness in a mild tone of voice.

The 3rd woman to be recognized at the awards ceremony was Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal), who ran in both the women`s 5000 m and 10000 m at the World Championships. Fukushi will try to secure one ticket to Beijing when she runs her debut marathon at the Osaka International Women`s Marathon in January. "I want everyone to enjoy my race," Fukushi laughed.

Other athletes honored by Rikuren included World Championships men`s 400 m relay 5th place team members Naoki Tsukahara (Tokai University), Shingo Suetsugu (Team Mizuno), Shinji Takahira (Team Fujitsu) and Nobuharu Asahara (Team Osaka Gas). Men`s 400 m hurdler Dai Tamesue (Team APF) won a special award for outstanding social contributions for founding the Tokyo Street Track and Field organization to help children get involved in track and field.

The IAAF`s athletics awards are held in lavish settings in Monaco each year with top athletes appearing in formal dress. Rikuren`s awards were held with only 1 month`s planning in a relatively modest location, leading Tosa to joke, "Hmmn, I don`t know whether this ceremony is flamboyant or, uh, not so flamboyant....."

Update: 1/14/08: The IAAF reported this same story today.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Federation Tells World Championships Marathoner Horibata To Go On Diet

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20110307-OHT1T00258.htm translated by Brett Larner Having made the 2011 World Championships marathon team by running a PB of 2:09:25 to come in 3rd overall and as the top Japanese finisher at the Mar. 6 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, Hiroyuki Horibata (24, Team Asahi Kasei), talked to the media at Osaka Airport on Mar. 7. Following Sunday's race Rikuren director Keisuke Sawaki , 67, told Horibata, "Let's cut things down a bit until the World Championships," directing him to go on a diet. The 189 cm Horibata weighs 72 kg [~6'3", 160 lbs]. When he joined Team Asahi Kasei in 2005 at age 18 he weighed 65 kg, and this weight is still generally listed on his profile at races and in the media. "For some reason it never changes," he said with a grin. His coach Takeshi Soh , 58, commented, "If he was hungrier for glory his world would change completely," slapping the 'heavyweight division runner...
Post a Comment
Read more

Keita Sato on Training with OAC, Breaking NR in the USA, and the Road Ahead

Translator's note: Over his 2nd year at four-time national champion Komazawa University , 1500 m, 3000 m, indoor 3000 m and 5000 m U20 NR holder Keita Sato spent a total of three months training with OAC with support from JRN, one week in Boulder last spring, three weeks in St. Moritz during the summer, and the last two months back in Boulder. During that time he ran the equivalent of a 27:57 road 10 km and 59:22 half marathon in ekidens and U20 Asian area best 27:28.50 for 10000 m, all at age 19, and since turning 20 in January an indoor 5000 m NR of 13:09.45, an indoor 3000 m NR of 7:42.56, and an Asian area best 8:14.71 for 2 miles indoor. This interview by journalist Tatsuo Terada took place in late February before The TEN, where Sato ran 27:34.66. Komazawa University 2nd-year Keita Sato had a great indoor track season. On January 26 in Boston just after his 20th birthday he ran a 13:09.45 indoor 5000 m national record, the 2nd-fastest time ever by a Japanese man behind o...
1 comment
Read more

Restaurant Owner Selected as Olympic Torchbearer Dies in Fire After Becoming Despondent Over Impact of Coronavirus Crisis (updated)

On the evening of Apr. 30, the 54-year-old male owner of a restaurant in Tokyo's Nerima ward specializing in tonkatsu deep fried pork cutlets died from full-body burns in a fire at the restaurant. The man had been one of the people chosen as a torchbearer for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics torch relay. With the coronavirus crisis causing both the postponement of the Olympics and a loss of business at the restaurant, the man had recently started talking pessimistically about the future to those around him. With evidence of the man's body having been doused in tonkatsu cooking oil, metropolitan police from the Hikarigaoka Police Station are carefully examining the cause of the fire. At around 10:00 p.m. on the 30th, the fire broke out in the tonkatsu restaurant on the first floor of a three-story building. A neighborhood resident who noticed smoke called the fire department. Firefighters found the floor and part of a wall burning, with the man lying on the floor in the customer seat...
Post a Comment
Read more