Skip to main content

Matsunaga and Nakatani Score Bronze - World University Games Day Two Japanese Results

by Brett Larner

 Daisuke Matsunaga (Toyo Univ.) became the first Japanese athletics medalist of the 2015 Gwangju World University Games on day two of competition, winning bronze in the men's 20 km in 1:22:06 after falling just over 30 seconds off a close race between eventual gold medalist Dane Bird-Smith (Australia) and Benjamin Thorne (Canada).

12 hours later, Keisuke Nakatani (Komazawa Univ.) repeated the feat in the final track final of the day, winning bronze in the men's 10000 m in 29:19.30 four seconds back from gold medalist Igor Maximov (Russia) and just losing out to Nicolae-Alexandru Soare (Romania) for silver.  After winning the 5000 m and 10000 m at May's Kanto Regional University Track and Field Championships and running a 28:31.84 best for 10000 m and winning the 3000 mSC national title in June, Hironori Tsuetaki (Chuo Gakuin Univ.) had a rare off day, finishing 9th in just 29:52.91.

Sprinter Anna Doi (Daito Bunka Univ.) made it to the women's 200 m semifinals before lining up for the 100 m final where she was 7th in 11.70.  Takamasa Kitagawa (Juntendo Univ.) made it though to the men's 400 m final, just, but teammate Kentaro Sato (Josai Univ.) was left behind in the semis.  Also making the finals in the women's 5000 m were Natsuki Omori (Ritsumeikan Univ.) and, doubling from the 10000 m a day earlier, Rina Koeda (Daito Bunka Univ.).  Kotaro Taniguchi (Chuo Univ.) and Takuya Nagata (Hosei Univ.) both qualified for the men's 200 m semifinals, Taniguchi winning his opening heat in 20.90 and Nagata taking his quarterfinal in 21.04.  In the men's 100 m Yuki Koike (Keio Univ.) was eliminated in the semifinals despite a 10.35 season best.

World University Games Day Two Japanese Results
Gwangju, South Korea, July 9, 2015
click here for complete results

Men's 10000 m Final
1. Igor Maximov (Russia) - 29:15.30
2. Nicolae-Alexandru Soare (Romania) - 29:18.71
3. Keisuke Nakatani (Japan) - 29:19.30
4. Vladimir Nikitin (Russia) - 29:20.20
5. Soufiane Bouchikhi (Belgium) - 29:24.21
-----
9. Hironori Tsuetaki (Japan) - 29:52.91
12. Kazuto Kawabata (Japan) - 30:06.42

Women's 5000 m Heat 1
1. Kristia Maki (Czech Republic) - 16:18.10 - Q
2. Daria Maslova (Kyrgyzstan) - 16:18.40 - Q
3. Jennifer Wenth (Austria) - 16:18.58 - Q
4. Natsuki Omori (Japan) - 16:18.99 - Q
5. Elif Karabulut (Turkey) - 16:21.94 - Q

Women's 5000 m Heat 2
1. Camille Buscomb (New Zealand) - 16:33.77 - Q
2. Rina Koeda (Japan) - 16:34.25 - Q
3. Sara Sutherland (U.S.A.) - 16:34.49 - Q
4. Rachel Cliff (Canada) - 16:36.87 - Q
5. Paulina Kaczynska (Poland) - 16:36.94 - Q

Men's 400 m Semifinal 1
1. Leaname Maotoanong (Botswana) - 45.77 - Q
2. Jan Tesar (Czech Republic) - 45.98 - Q
3. Takamasa Kitagawa (Japan) - 46.25 - q

Men's 400 m Semifinal 2
1. Luguelin Miguel Santos Aquino (Dominican Republic) - 46.01 - Q
2. Sakaria Kamberuka (Botswana) - 46.14 - Q
3. Kentaro Sato (Japan) - 46.36

Women's 200 m Heat 3 -0.8 m/s
1. Giulia Riva (Italy) - 23.99 - Q
2. Hanne Claes (Belgium) - 23.99 - Q
3. Omolara Grace Omotoso (Nigeria) - 24.45 - Q
4. Anna Doi (Japan) - 24.57 - q

Men's 200 m Heat 1 +1.6 m/s
1. Kotaro Taniguchi (Japan) - 20.90 - Q
2. David Gerson Semedo Neves Lima (Portugal) - 21.04 - Q
3. Leonel Bonon (Dominican Republic) - 21.82 - Q

Men's 200 m Heat 7 -0.1 m/s
1. Mobolade Abimbola Ajomale (Canada) - 21.13 - Q
2. Takuya Nagata (Japan) - 21.25 - Q
3. Andrew James McCabe (Australia) - 21.33 - Q

Men's 200 m Quarterfinal 2 -1.5 m/s
1. Viacheslav Kolesnichenko (Russia) - 21.01 - Q
2. Kotaro Taniguchi (Japan) - 21.09 - Q
3. Leon Powell (U.S.A.) - 21.20 - Q

Men's 200 m Quarterfinal 4 +0.4 m/s
1. Takuya Nagata (Japan) - 21.04 - Q
2. Mobolade Abimbola Ajomale (Canada) - 21.13 - Q
3. Chun-Han Yang (Taiwan) - 21.16 - Q

Women's 100 m Semifinal 3 +1.8 m/s
1. Viktoriya Zyabkina (Kazakhstan) - 11.27 - Q
2. Lina Grincikaite-Samuole (Lithuania) - 11.46 - Q
3. Alexandra Bezekova (Slovakia) - 11.56 - q
4. Anna Doi (Japan) - 11.61 - q

Women's 100 m Final +0.4 m/s
1. Viktoriya Zyabkina (Kazakhstan) - 11.23
2. Shimarya Crystal Williams (Jamaica) - 11.46
3. Elena Kozlova (Russia) - 11.47
-----
7. Anna Doi (Japan) - 11.70

Men's 100 m Semifinal 1 +1.8 m/s
1. Ronald Baker (U.S.A.) - 10.14 - Q
2. Kukyoung Kim (South Korea) - 10.16 - Q
3. Yang Yang (China) - 10.24 - Q
4. Jin Su Jung (Australia) - 10.28 - Q
5. Yuki Koike (Japan) - 10.35

Men's 20 km Race Walk Final
1. Dane Bird-Smith (Australia) - 1:21:30
2. Benjamin Thorne (Canada) - 1:21:33
3. Daisuke Matsunaga (Japan) - 1:22:06
-----
8. Tomohiro Noda (Japan) - 1:25:36

(c) 2015 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Hakone Champ AGU Hits 50 km a Day in Spring Break Training Camp

Having scored its 3rd-straight Hakone Ekiden win this past January, Aoyama Gakuin University spent the Golden Week spring holidays training on the Myoko Plateau in Niigata from May 2-6. Along with the champion men's ekiden team, the first 2 members of AGU's new women's long distance team Nodoka Ashida and Kairi Ikeno , and AGU alumni and 2026 New Year Ekiden champion GMO team members Yuya Yoshida and Asahi Kuroda also took part in the training camp. Depending on the day's training schedule, mileage at the camp was over 50 km a day. AGU men's captain Kaito Nakamura confidently said, "This Golden Week training camp is where we lay the foundations for our 4th-straight Hakone title." A lot of people spend Golden Week on vacation, but the AGU ekiden team spent their time working hard on Myoko's rolling land amid the sprouting leaves of spring. On the 2nd day of the camp, May 3, team members woke up at 5:00 a.m. to do their warmup. The team assembled a...
1 comment
Read more

Ochiai, Kawamura, Usuki and Mishima Set NR - Golden Week Track Roundup

There was a lot of action on the track over Japan's Golden Week holidays. Highlights: Shizuoka International Meet - Fukuroi, 3 May Men's 800 m NR holder Ko Ochiai (Komazawa Univ.) broke his own record with a 1:43.90 win. Daigo Usuki (18 Ginko) and Gakuto Mishima (Nippatsu) both broke the NR in the T20 men's 400 m, Usuki getting the win in 49.08 and Mishima 2nd in 49.15. Lauren Bruce (New Zealand) threw a meet record 67.44 m on her final attempt in the women's hammer throw, but even her shortest throw of 64.31 m was over 3 m better than the rest of the field. Kazuki Kurokawa (Sumitomo Denko) got the men's 400 mH meet record with a 48.50 for the win. Women's 3000 mSC NR holder Miu Saito (Panasonic) won the steeple in 9:31.83, the 2nd-best time in her career so far, despite falling. 2nd through 4th all broke 10 minutes. National University Men's Ekiden Kanto Region Qualifier - Hiratsuka, 4 May The top 8 teams at November's National University Men...
Post a Comment
Read more

Everything You Need to Know About the 2026 Hakone Ekiden

The Hakone Ekiden is the world's biggest road race, 2 days of road relay action with Japan's 20 best university teams racing 10 half marathon-scale legs from central Tokyo to the mountains east of Mount Fuji and back. The level just keeps going higher and higher , hitting the point this year where there are teams with 10-runner averages of 13:33.10 for 5000 m, 27:55.98 for 10000 m, and 1:01:20 for the half marathon. It's never been better, and with great weather in the forecast it's safe to say this could be one of the best races in Hakone's 102-year history, especially on Day One. If you've seen it then you know NTV's live broadcast is the best sports broadcast in the world, with the pre-race show kicking off at 7:00 a.m. Japan time on the 2nd and 3rd and the race starting at 8:00 a.m. sharp. If you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it on TVer starting at 7:50 a.m. on the 2nd , and again at 7:50 a.m. on the 3rd . There's even a 2-hour high...
3 comments
Read more