Skip to main content

Japanese National Team Gathers in Tokyo

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/p-sp-tp0-20090806-527765.html

translated by Brett Larner

Members of the Japanese national team on Aug. 5 in Shibuya. Click photo for full-sized image.

Rikuren held a press conference and farewell party for the Japanese national track and field team at a hotel in Tokyo's Shibuya ward on Aug. 5. Serving as the national team head coach, Rikuren executive board member Susumu Takano reiterated the team's goal of at least one medal and six top-eight finishes, but added, "We also want at least 25% of our athletes to set season best marks." Men's pole vaulter Daichi Sawano (28, Chiba T&F Assoc.) and women's 400 m hurdler Satomi Kubokura (27, Team Niigata Albirex) were also introduced at the party as the team captains. With regard to men's hammer thrower Koji Murofushi (33, Team Mizuno), who has recovered from an injury but is behind schedule in his training, his father and coach Shigenobu commented, "We can't expect him to get any records or place well this time."

Translator's note: Athletes pictured above include, left to right:
Front row: Yukari Sahaku (10000m), Yuriko Kobayashi (5000m), Chisato Fukushima (100m, 200m), Momoko Takahashi (100m, 200m), ?,?
Second row: Asami Tanno (400m), ?, ?, Shintaro Kimura (100m), ?, ?, ?
Third Row: Daichi Sawano (pole vault), ?, ?, ?, Yuichiro Ueno (5000m), ?
Fourth Row: ?, Kensuke Takahashi (marathon), Satoshi Irifune (marathon), Yuzo Kanemaru (400m), Shinji Takahira (200m), Naoki Tsukahara (100m)
Back Row: ?, Yoshitaka Iwamizu (3000mSC), Masaya Shimizu (marathon)

Comments

Brett Larner said…
Well, that explains why Nakamura and Morimoto were in the park yesterday morning.
TokyoRacer said…
Is Sahaku tiny or what??
Brett Larner said…
Alas, the heartbreak of link decay...In the words of the master songsmith Matthew Sweet, "Nothing lasts."

And yes, Sahaku is small.

Most-Read This Week

'Kobe 2024: Aitchison, Athmani Lead Record-Breaking Thursday'

  https://www.paralympic.org/news/kobe-2024-para-athletics-world-championships-aitchison-athmani-lead-record-breaking-thursday Complete results and daily schedule from the Kobe World Para Athletics Championships are here .

Chesang Wins Osaka Women's Marathon in 2:19:31, Yada Drops 2:19:57 Debut NR

This year's Osaka International Women's Marathon was a race run with a high level of methodicalness, starting slower than the planned 3:19/km but ramping up until the lead pack was skimming around the 2:20:15-30 projected finish level. After hitting halfway in 1:10:13 with a group of 6, by 25 km only 4 were left up front, sub-2:19 runners Workenesh Edesa , Stella Chesang and Bedatu Hirpa , and the debuting Mikuni Yada , and when the last 2 pacers stepped off at 30 km it was Yada who went to the front. Despite never have raced longer than the 10.6 km Third Stage at November's Queens Ekiden where she had helped the Edion team score its first-ever national title, Yada was very, very impressive, fearlessly surging from 12 km and never letting up, even laughing and smiling to fans along the course. When she started sustaining a pace around 3:15/km the projected finish dropped under 2:20 and all the way down to 2:19:28 by 35 km, and even when all 3 of the more experienced ru...

Hirayama Breaks Osaka Half CR, Martinez Set Puerto Rican NR

The Osaka Half Marathon took another big step up the domestic half marathon rankings from a mass-participation race run alongside the Osaka International Women's Marathon to one of the country's top-tier races. In the women's race, the debuting Jecinta Nyokabi (Denso) went out fast, only to be run down by veteran Yumi Yoshikawa (Canon AC) by 10 km. Nyokabi faded to 6th in 1:10:41, but Yoshikawa pushed on to a PB 1:09:14 for the win. Rina Shimizu (Noritz), Yuna Takahashi (Shimamura) and Makoto Tsuchiya (Ritsumeikan Univ.) all broke 70 minutes, Tsuchiya taking the Kansai Region collegiate title in 1:09:32 for 4th overall. Everyone in the top 10 who wasn't debuting ran a PB, a mark of how fast the day was even with cold and windy conditions. The men's race went out on sub-61 pace courtesy of Yudai Shimazu (GMO), then got a big injection of speed when Kyuma Yokota (Toyota Kyushu) took off close to 60-flat pace. Yokota opened a 10-second lead by 15 km, but over ...