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Kitaguchi Throws Javelin Gold - World Youth Championships Day Two Japanese Results

by Brett Larner

Haruka Kitaguchi (Hokkaido Asahikawa Higashi H.S.) unexpectedly became the second Japanese gold medalist of the World Youth Championships, the only athlete in the girls' javelin throw to go over 60 m with a PB of 60.35 m for the win.  Virtually unknown going into the competition, Kitaguchi opened with a PB 56.42 m throw to immediately go into 1st ahead of #3-ranked Laine Donane (Latvia) and #4-ranked Stella Weinberg (Norway).  On her third throw Weinberg delivered a PB of her own, 57.11 m, to move into 1st, but Kitaguchi was quick to respond with a 60.35 m best on her fifth throw to seal gold.  Weinberg stayed in silver, while Donane took bronze with her opening throw of 56.15 m.

Kitaguchi was the only Japanese medalist of the day, but from 400 m through 3000 m Japanese athletes performed well, moving on into the finals almost across the board.  Both Masaki Toyoda (Rakunan H.S.) and Ryusei Fujii (Kokura Kogyo H.S.) won their boys' 400 mH semifinals, Toyoda breaking the world youth leading 50.87 Fujii ran in the opening heats with a 50.72 to win his semi.  In the boys' 400 m semifinals, Minato Sasaki (Morioka Minami H.S.) ran a PB 46.85 to advance on time.  Likewise in the boys' 800 m, where Kazuyoshi Tamogami (Gakuho Ishikawa H.S.) ran a PB of 1:50.31 to move on to the final ranked #3 in the field.

In the girls' 1500 m, Chika Mukai (Shigakukan H.S.) ran a PB of 4:20.59 for 4th in the fast second heat to make the final.  By comparison, Wakana Kabasawa (Tokiwa H.S.) finished 3rd in the slower first heat in 4:32.13, likewise making the final.  Both Japanese entrants in the boys' 3000 m also made the final, Yuta Kambayashi (Kyushu Gakuin H.S.) running 8:25.58 for 3rd in Heat 1 and Hyuga Endo (Gakuho Ishikawa H.S.) keeping his head as Richard Yator Kimunyan (Kenya) and Tefera Mosisa (Ethiopia) dueled pointlessly up front, qualifying for the final in 3rd in 8:26.59 over 20 seconds behind but at least heading into the final on fresh legs.

9th World Youth Championships Day Two Japanese Results
Cali, Colombia, 7/16/15
click here for complete results

Boys' 3000 m Heat 1
1. Davis Kiplagat (Kenya) - 8:19.27 - Q
2. Abayneh Degu (Ethiopia) - 8:20.08 - Q
3. Yuta Kambayashi (Japan) - 8:25.58 - Q
4. Kisan Narshi Tadvi (India) - 8:25.98 - Q
5. Alexander Yee (Great Britain) - 8:28.18 - Q

Boys' 3000 m Heat 2
1. Richard Yator Kimunyan (Kenya) - 8:04.75 - Q
2. Tefera Mosisa (Ethiopia) - 8:07.53 - Q - PB
3. Hyuga Endo (Japan) - 8:26.59 - Q
4. Abderrazak Abed (Algeria) - 8:29.07 - Q - PB
5. Dorin Andrei Rusu (Romania) - 8:29.36 - Q

Girls' 1500 m Heat 1
1. Adanech Anbesa (Ethiopia) - 4:28.70 - Q
2. Janeth Chepngetich (Kenya) - 4:32.03 - Q
3. Wakana Kabasawa (Japan) - 4:32.13 - Q
4. Sabrina Sinha (Great Britain) - 4:32.14 - Q
5. Semra Karaslan (Turkey) - 4:32.15

Girls' 1500 m Heat 2
1. Dalila Abdulkadir Gosa (Bahrain) - 4:18.61 - Q
2. Bedatu Hirpa (Ethiopia) - 4:19.34 - Q - PB
3. Joyline Cherotich (Kenya) - 4:19.96 - Q - PB
4. Chika Mukai (Japan) - 4:20.59 - Q - PB
5. Olivia Burdon (New Zealand) - 4:21.36 - q - PB

Boys' 800 m Semifinal 1
1. Kipyegon Bett (Kenya) - 1:47.11 - Q
2. Kazuyoshi Tamogami (Japan) - 1:50.31 - Q - PB
3. Lee Clarke (Jamaica) - 1:50.70 - q - PB

Boys' 800 m Semifinal 2
1. Willy Kiplimo Tarbei (Kenya) - 1:48.68 - Q
2. Luis Fernando Pires (Brazil) - 1:50.67 - Q - PB
3. Achraf El Maliky (Morocco) - 1:52.23
-----
7. Takuto Hanamura (Japan) - 1:57.69

Girls' 800 m Heat 2
1. Marta Zenoni (Italy) - 2:09.67 - Q
2. Honorine Iribagiza (Rwanda) - 2:10.04 - Q - PB
3. Elise Vanderelst (Belgium) - 2:10.20 - Q
-----
5. Shoko Fukuda (Japan) - 2:10.79

Boys' 400 m Semifinal 1
1. Christopher Taylor (Jamaica) - 45.30 - Q - WYL
2. Josephus Lyles (U.S.A.) - 45.93 - Q
3. Karabo Sibanda (Botswana) - 46.53 - q
4. Minato Sasaki (Japan) - 46.85 - q - PB

Boys' 400 m Semifinal 2
1. Keshun Reed (U.S.A.) - 46.77 - Q
2. Louis Stenmark (Australia) - 46.78 - Q - PB
3. Chandan Bauri (India) - 47.41
4. Ryota Kitahara (Japan) - 47.85

Girls' 400 m Semifinal 1
1. Kyra Constantine (Canada) - 52.88 - Q - PB
2. Catherine Reid (Great Britain) - 53.20 - Q - PB
3. Symone Mason (U.S.A.) - 53.48 - q
-----
7. Rin Aoki (Japan) - 55.69

Girls' 100 m Heat 6 -0.9 m/s
1. Nicola de Bruyn (South Africa) - 11.74 - Q
2. Brianne Bethel (Bahamas) - 11.88 - Q
3. Helene Ronningen (Norway) - 11.96 - q
-----
6. Miku Yamada (Japan) - 12.32

Boys' 400 mH Semifinal 1
1. Masaki Toyoda (Japan) - 50.72 - Q - WYL
2. Emmanuel Kipyegon Langat (Kenya) - 51.13 - Q - PB
3. Rivaldo Leacock (Barbados) - 51.20 - q - PB

Boys' 400 mH Semifinal 2
1. Ryusei Fujii (Japan) - 51.21 - Q
2. Jauavney James (Jamaica) - 51.96 - Q - PB
3. Hrvoje Cukman (Croatia) - 52.33

Girls' 400 mH Semifinal 1
1. Sydney McLaughlin (U.S.A.) - 56.79 - Q
2. Anne Sofie Kirkegaard (Denmark) - 58.56 - Q
3. Lee Ahrens (Germany) - 58.90 - Q - PB
-----
6. Mizuki Murakami (Japan) - 59.35

Girls' 400 mH Semifinal 2
1. Brandee Johnson (U.S.A.) - 58.51 - Q
2. Ilaria Verderio (Italy) - 58.56 - Q
3. Junelle Bromfield (Jamaica) - 58.67 - Q
-----
8. Chisa Kitazawa (Japan) - 1:11.08

Girls' 100 mH Semifinal 2 -0.6 m/s
1. Ilionis Guillaume (France) - 13.23 - Q - PB
2. Alicia Barrett (Great Britain) - 13.40 - Q - PB
3. Klaudia Siciarz (Poland) - 13.50 - q - PB
-----
5. Yumi Tanaka (Japan) - 13.64 - PB

Boys' High Jump Qualification Group A
1. Dmytro Nikitin (Ukraine) - 2.08 m - q
1. Jaron Brooks (U.S.A.) - 2.08 m - q
1. Remo Cagliesi (Germany) - 2.08 m - q
-----
12. Go Miura (Japan) - 2.00 m

Boys' Long Jump Final
1. Maykel Demetrio Masso (Cuba) - 8.05 m +0.5 m/s - MR
2. Darcy Roper (Australia) - 8.01 m +0.5 m/s - PB
3. Eberson Silva (Brazil) - 7.76 m +0.1 m/s - PB
-----
12. Masashi Miyauchi (Japan) - 6.85 m -0.3 m/s

Girls' Javelin Throw Final
1. Haruka Kitaguchi (Japan) - 60.35 m - PB
2. Stella Weinberg (Norway) - 57.11 m - PB
3. Laine Donane (Latvia) - 56.15 m

(c) 2015 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Comments

TokyoRacer said…
That's amazing! Hard to believe a Japanese girl's throwing farther than the Scandinavians (who probably have more javelin coaches than Japan has javelins).
Brett Larner said…
She threw like a champ, too, coming up with the big throw when she needed it. Respect.

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