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Japan Announces Team of 50 for Daegu World Championships

by Brett Larner

The Japanese federation Rikuren announced the complete lineup of its team for next month's World Championships in Daegu, Korea, adding to the previously-announced marathon and race walk rosters to make a complete team of fifty.  The Japanese team includes Olympic medalists Koji Murofushi (Mizuno, HT) and Shinji Takahira (Fujitsu, 200 m), World Championships medalists Yukifumi Murakami (Suzuki Hamamatsu, JT) and Yoshimi Ozaki (Daiichi Seimei, marathon), national record holders Yuki Ebihara (Suzuki Hamamatsu, JT), Masumi Fuchise (Otsuka Seiyaku, 20 km RW), Chisato Fukushima (Hokkaido Hi-Tec, 100 m, 200 m), Minori Hayakari (Kyoto Koka AC, 3000 mSC), Satomi Kubokura (Niigata Albirex, 400 mH), Daichi Sawano (Chiba Pref., PV), Keisuke Ushiro (Suzuki Hamamatsu, decathlon) and Masato Yokota (Fujitsu, 800 m) and an extensive list of national champions.  A complete listing of the team is given below.

One notable absence is year-leading 10000 m woman Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal), who skipped Nationals and last weekend's Asian Athletics Championships despite being the only Japanese woman to break 31 minutes so far this year, passing up her chance of running at Worlds.  Fukushi is listed on the lineup for the federation's road trip to run the 10000 m at the Aviva U.K. Trials later this month in London, a trip designed to give Olympic hopefuls a taste of racing with that time difference in the British summer before next year's Olympic main event.  Taken all together this suggests that for Fukushi this may be a case of all roads leading to London.

2011 Daegu World Championships - Japanese National Team Roster

Men
Marathon
Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref.) - 2:08:37
Yoshinori Oda (Team Toyota) - 2:09:03
Hiroyuki Horibata (Team Asahi Kasei) - 2:09:25
Kentaro Nakamoto (Team Yasukawa Denki) - 2:09:31
Yukihiro Kitaoka (Team NTN) - 2:10:51

Long Distance
Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 13:23.57 (5000 m); 27:38.25 (10000 m)
Kazuya Watanabe (Team Shikoku Denryoku) - 13:23.15 (5000 m); 27:47.79 (10000 m)

Middle Distance
Masato Yokota (Team Fujitsu) - 1:46.16 - NR

Sprints
Masashi Eriguchi (Team Osaka Gas) - 10.07 (100 m)
Shinji Takahira (Team Fujitsu) - 10.20 (100 m); 20.22 (200 m)
Hitoshi Saito (Sanmesse AC) - 10.35 (100 m); 20.42 (200 m)
Yuichi Kobayashi (Hosei Univ.) - 10.48 (100 m); 20.59 (200 m)
Yuzo Kanemaru (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 45.16 (400 m)
Sota Kawatsura (Chuo Univ.) - 10.30 (100 m); 20.56 (200 m)
Hideyuki Hirose (Keio Univ.) - 45.84 (400 m)
Yusuke Ishitsuka (Team Mizuno) - 46.02 (m)
Kei Takase (Team Fujitsu) - 20.53 (200 m); 46.46 (400 m)

Hurdles
Takayuki Kishmoto (Hosei Univ.) - 49.27 (400 mH)
Takatoshi Abe (Chukyo Univ.) - 13.80 (110 mH); 49.46 (400 mH)
Yuta Imazeki (Team Aima) - 49.54 (400 mH)

Race Walks
Koichiro Morioka (Team Fujitsu) - 3:44:45 (50 km); 1:20:43 (20 km)
Takayuki Tanii (Team Sagawa Express) - 3:47:23 (50 km); 1:20:39 (20 km)
Hirooki Arai (Hokuriku Kamenoi Hotel AC) - 3:48:46 (50 km); 1:23:16 (20 km)
Yusuke Suzuki (Team Fujitsu) - 1:20:06 (20 km)

Jumps
Daichi Sawano (Chiba Pref.) - 5.83 m (PV) - NR

Throws
Koji Murofushi (Team Mizuno) - 84.86 (HT) - NR
Yukifumi Murakami (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 83.27 m (JT)

Decathlon
Keisuke Ushiro (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 8073 - NR

Women
Marathon
Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 2:23:30
Yukiko Akaba (Team Hokuren) - 2:24:09
Remi Nakazato (Team Daihatsu) - 2:24:29
Azusa Nojiri (Team Daiichi Seimei) - 2:25:29
Mai Ito (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 2:26:55

Long Distance
Megumi Kinukawa (Team Mizuno) - 15:09.96 (5000 m); 31:10.02 (10000 m)
Hitomi Niiya (Team Univ. Ent.) - 15:13.12 (5000 m)
Kayo Sugihara (Team Denso) - 15:15.34 (5000 m); 31:34.25 (10000 m)
Hikari Yoshimoto (Bukkyo Univ.) - 15:26.72 (5000 m); 31:30.92 (10000 m)
Minori Hayakari (Kyoto Koka AC) - 9:33.93 (3000 mSC) - NR

Sprints
Chisato Fukushima (Hokkaido Hi-Tec AC) - 11.21 (100 m) - NR; 22.89 (200 m) - NR
Momoko Takahashi (Team Fujitsu) - 11.32 (100 m); 23.15 (200 m)
Kana Ichikawa (Chukyo Univ.) - 11.43 (100 m); 23.63 (200 m)
Nao Okabe (Team Mizuno) - 11.75 (100 m)
Saori Imai (Shigakukan Univ.)

Hurdles
Satomi Kubokura (Niigata Albirex AC) - 55.34 (400 mH) - NR

Race Walks
Masumi Fuchise (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) - 1:28:03 (20 km) - NR
Mayumi Kawasaki (Team Fujitsu) - 1:28:49 (20 km)
Kumi Otoshi (Team Fujitsu) - 1:29:11 (20 km)

Throws
Masumi Aya (Team Maruzen Kogyo) - 67.26 m (HT)
Yuki Ebihara (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 61.56 m (JT) - NR
Risa Miyashita (Osaka Taiku Univ.) - 55.66 m (JT)
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Comments

Masato said…
Has the Japan Federation chosen who will replace Kitaoka at the World Championships?
July 13, 2011 at 6:29 AM
Brett Larner said…
Looks like he's going to run after all. Hard to know what to make of it as he sat out Gifu and doesn't have other tuneup races planned that I have heard, but then again I believe he didn't race even once between Biwako and the Asian Champs last year.
July 13, 2011 at 3:17 PM
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