Japanese Olympic Distance Running Preview

Japanese Olympic Distance Running Preview - Men`s 3000m Steeplechase

by Brett Larner

Men`s 3000 m SC

Yoshitaka Iwamizu
Born: June 20, 1979, Aichi Prefecture
Team Affiliation: Fujitsu
Olympic Event PB: 8:18.93, 2003 – NR
Season Highlights:
-6th place, Memorial Leon Buyle 3000m: 7:55.90, 7/26/08
-12th place, DN Galan 3000m SC: 8:34.05, 7/22/08
-National Champion, 3000m SC: 8:29.75, 6/29/08
-Top Japanese finisher, World XC Championships, 4/5/08
Career Highlights:
-NR, 3000m SC: 8:18.93, 2003
-Asian Champion, 3000m SC, 2005
-National Champion, 3000m SC, 2001-2005, 2007-2008
-Athens Olympics, 3000m SC, 2004
-World T&F Championships, 3000m SC, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007
-World XC Championships, 2004, 2006, 2008

Like Minori Hayakari in the women`s steeplechase, Yoshitaka Iwamizu is the undisputed master of the Japanese men`s 3000m SC world. The national record holder and former Asian champion, Iwamizu has competed in the last four World Championships, the Athens Olympics, and has won the National Championships every year but one since 2001. Although he won the National Championships again this past June his times this season have been far from his record and significantly slower than last year. As a result Iwamizu is very unlikely to be a competitive factor in Beijing.

© 2008 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
photo from Rikuren archive

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Morii Surprises With Second-Ever Japanese Sub-2:10 at Boston

With three sub-2:09 Japanese men in the race and good weather conditions by Boston standards the chances were decent that somebody was going to follow 1981 winner Toshihiko Seko 's 2:09:26 and score a sub-2:10 at the Boston Marathon . But nobody thought it was going to be by a 2:14 amateur. Paris Olympic team member Suguru Osako had taken 3rd in Boston in 2:10:28 in his debut seven years ago, and both he and 2:08 runners Kento Otsu and Ryoma Takeuchi were aiming for spots in the top 10, Otsu after having run a 1:01:43 half marathon PB in February and Takeuchi of a 2:08:40 marathon PB at Hofu last December. A high-level amateur with a 2:14:15 PB who scored a trip to Boston after winning a local race in Japan, Yuma Morii told JRN minutes before the start of the race, "I'm not thinking about time at all. I'm going to make top 10, whatever time it takes." Running Boston for the first time Morii took off with a 4:32 on the downhill opening mile, but after that Sis

Saturday at Kanaguri and Nittai

Two big meets happened Saturday, one in Kumamoto and the other in Yokohama. At Kumamoto's Kanaguri Memorial Meet , Benard Koech (Kyudenko) turned in the performance of the day with a 13:13.52 meet record to win the men's 5000 m A-heat by just 0.11 seconds over Emmanuel Kipchirchir (SGH). The top four were all under 13:20, with 10000 m national record holder Kazuya Shiojiri (Fujitsu) bouncing back from a DNF at last month's The TEN to take the top Japanese spot at 7th overall in 13:24.57. The B-heat was also decently quick, Shadrack Rono (Subaru) winning in 13:21.55 and Shoya Yonei (JR Higashi Nihon) running a 10-second PB to get under 13:30 for the first time in 13:29.29 for 6th. Paris Olympics marathoner Akira Akasaki (Kyudenko) was 9th in 13:30.62. South Sudan's Abraham Guem (Ami AC) also set a meet record in the men's 1500 m A-heat in 3:38.94. 3000 mSC national record holder Ryuji Miura made his debut with the Subaru corporate team, running 3:39.78 for 2n

93-Year-Old Masters Track and Field WR Holder Hiroo Tanaka: "Everyone has Unexplored Intrinsic Abilities"

In the midst of a lot of talk about how to keep the aging population young, there are people with long lives who are showing extraordinary physical abilities. One of them is Hiroo Tanaka , 93, a multiple world champion in masters track and field. Tanaka began running when he was 60, before which he'd never competed in his adult life. "He's so fast he's world-class." "His running form is so beautiful. It's like he's flying." Tanaka trains at an indoor track in Aomori five days a week. Asked about him, that's the kind of thing the people there say. Tanaka holds multiple masters track and field world records, where age is divided into five-year groups. Last year at the World Masters Track and Field Championships in Poland he set a new world record of 38.79 for 200 m in the M90 class (men's 90-94 age group). People around the world were amazed at the time, which was almost unbelievable for a 92-year-old. After retiring from his job as an el

japan running news

Search This Blog