Skip to main content

Fukushima Breaks 200 m National Record - 100th National Championships Day Three

by Brett Larner
videos c/o JAAF
click here for Day One results, video and report
click here for Day Two results, video and report




With over 16,000 fans in attendance Japan celebrated the end of its 100th National Track and Field Championships with a new national record in the second-to-last event of the day Sunday at Nagoya's Paloma Mizuho Stadium, sunshine and temperatures near 30 degrees following two days of rain.  Taking advantage of a strong but legal 1.8 m/s tailwind, national record holder Chisato Fukushima (Hokkaido Hi-Tech AC) shaved 0.01 off her 6-year-old 200 m national record with a 22.88 win, adding the 200 m to her schedule for August's Rio de Janeiro Olympics.  Two more records came from runner-up Ami Saito (Kurashiki Chuo H.S.), whose 23.46 broke both the national junior and high school records if short of the 23.20 Rio standard.



The men's 200 m, the final event of the championships, also came up fast with the same 1.8 m/s tailwind.  2010 World Junior Championships gold medalist Shota Iizuka (Mizuno), ranked #1 in the semis, looked easy as he took 0.1 off his PB with a 20.11 win under the JAAF standard, guaranteeing himself a place on the Rio team.  One of the two athletes already holding the JAAF standard, Kei Takase (Fujitsu) was 2nd in 20.31, unexpectedly bumped into provisional status by Iizuka's triumph.  The other man with the JAAF standard, Kenji Fujimitsu (Zenrin) was off his game with what may have been a mid-race injury at 6th in 20.77.  Shota Hara (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) took 3rd in a PB of 20.33, staking a solid claim to Rio legitimacy over Fujimitsu.  The JAAF's complicated selection criteria seem to suggest that Fujimitsu will be picked over Hara, but the final outcome remains to be seen at Monday's Olympic team announcement.



One of the day's other two standout performances came in the men's high jump.  Naoto Tobe (Ando Zaidan), the only athlete to have cleared the 2.29 m Rio standard, faltered with a jump of just 2.20 m, but in his place Takashi Eto (AGF) came up with a PB 2.29 m on his second attempt for the win, hitting the Rio standard to score a place on the Olympic team.



The other big performance of the day came in the men's 110 mH.  Wataru Yazawa (Descente) was the only man who arrived at Nationals with the 13.47 Rio standard, but in the first round he was only 4th with a time of 13.79.  Genta Masuno (Monteroza) brought a PB of 13.59 in the heats to start the final ranked #1.  Masuno led most of the way, but with a miracle finish Yazawa caught him just before the line to win in 13.48 +2.4 m/s, the combination of the Rio standard and the win putting him on the Rio team.



In the women's 5000 m, 10000 m top two Ayuko Suzuki and Hanami Sekine of the Japan Post corporate team again worked together to try to get Sekine the Rio standard.  This time they had support from 10000 m 6th-placer Hisami Ishii (Yamada Denki), who took a turn leading to try to keep the pace on track for sub-15:24.  Not so for three-time defending champ Misaki Onishi (Sekisui Kagaku), the only one of the four not to have run Friday's 10000 m and who sat on the others the entire way without taking a turn in the front.  Not until her last kick over the last lap, where she dusted the fatigued Suzuki and Sekine to win a fourth-straight title in 15:19.37 and a place on the Rio team.  Suzuki and Sekine were together to the end, both just over the 15:24.00 standard in 2nd and 3rd.  With a Rio standard already to her name Suzuki is likely to have the 5000 m added to her guaranteed spot in the 10000 m.  Without a standard Sekine's Olympics are most likely limited to the 10000 m should her 31:22.92 runner-up finish Friday be good enough to impress the old hats.



In the absence of defending champion Kota Murayama (Asahi Kasei), like Onishi the Alberto Salazar-powered 10000 m champ Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project), exerted minimum effort to score the win, sitting back as a rotating cast including Ageo City Half-NYC Half alumni Takashi Ichida (Asahi Kasei) and Yuta Shitara (Honda), Shuho Dairokuno (Asahi Kasei) and 2009 national champion Yuichiro Ueno (DeNA) took turns trying to push the pace close to the 13:25.00 Rio standard.  Things slowed out of Olympic range, and as in the 10000 m Osako went for an easy long kick to pick up another national title, his 13:08.40 national record from last summer scoring him a double spot on the Rio roster.  Ueno closed on Osako over the last 200 m but came up short in 2nd in 13:39.23.  Dairokuno looked set for 3rd, but a challenge from top university man Tadashi Isshiki (Aoyama Gakuin University) brought things to a photo finish that delayed results before Dairokuno was declared the 3rd man by 0.13 in 13:39.52.



The final day's addition to the Rio team came in the women's 400 mH, where Satomi Kubokura (Niigata Albirex RC) scored her millionth consecutive national title in 56.62.  Already under the Rio standard, Kubokura added a trip to Rio to her summer plans.  On hold, however, was men's triple jump runner-up Daigo Hasegawa (Hitachi ICT), a Rio standard holder but whose 16.41 m +0.0 m/s jump was only good for 2nd behind national champion Ryoma Yamamoto (Juntendo University).  Yamamoto came up short of the 16.85 m Rio standard at 16.52 m +1.7 m/s.  Like the winners of many of the weekend's other events, Yamamoto has until July 11 to try to get the standard.  Hasegawa has to wait for the official team announcement to find out his fate.



Among those short of the Rio standard, the best duel came in the men's 3000 m steeplechase.  Juntendo University second-year Kazuya Shiojiri went out fast to try to hit the 8:30.00 Rio standard.  Defending champ Hironori Tsuetaki (Fujitsu), whose 8:32.89 win last year put him closest to making the grade, initially stuck with the young Shiojiri before letting go.  Over the last lap Shiojiri closed, but going into the home straight Shiojiri still had a lead.  Kicking hard, Shiojiri inexplicably cut a diagonal toward lane 8 as he went to the line.  Going straight down the home stretch, Tsuetaki beat Shiojiri home by just 0.06 to defend his title in 8:36.39.  Shiojiri scored a PB of 8:36.45, but with a little better sense in the home straight a national title might have been his.



100th National Track & Field Championships Day Three
doubling as Rio de Janeiro Olympic Trials

Paloma Mizuho Stadium, Nagoya, 6/26/16
click here for complete results
athletes in bold earned place on Rio Olympics team
athletes in italics qualified for place on Rio team

Sprints

Women's 200 m Final +1.8 m/s
1. Chisato Fukushima (Hokkaido Hi-Tech AC) - 22.88 - NR
2. Ami Saito (Kurashiki Chuo H.S.) - 23.46 - NJR, NHSR
3. Kana Ichikawa (Mizuno) - 23.86
4. Saori Imai (Iida Byoin) - 23.92
5. Mariko Nagano (Konan Univ.) - 23.96
6. Rio Banno (Nanajunana Ginko) - 24.07
7. Miyu Maeyama (Niigata Iryo Fukushi Univ.) - 24.26
8. Maki Wada (Mizuno) - 24.39

Men's 200 m Final +1.8 m/s
1. Shota Iizuka (Mizuno) - 20.11 - PB
2. Kei Takase (Fujitsu) - 20.31
3. Shota Hara (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 20.33 - PB
4. Takanori Kawase (Nittai Univ.) - 20.65 - PB
5. Kazuma Oseto (Hosei Univ.) - 20.72
6. Kenji Fujimitsu (Zenrin) - 20.77
7. Kotaro Taniguchi (Chuo Univ.) - 20.81

Middle Distance

Women's 800 m Final
1. Shoko Fukuda (Matsue Kita H.S.) - 2:05.92
2. Hana Yamada (Tokyo Gakugei Univ.) - 2:06.83
3. Fumika Omori (Lotte) - 2:06.83
4. Yuki Hirota (Akita Univ.) - 2:07.43
5. Atsumi Totani (Higashi Osaka Prep Keiai H.S.) - 2:07.71
6. Ayano Shiomi (Kyoto Bunko H.S.) - 2:07.72
7. Ran Urabe (Tokyo Gakugei Univ.) - 2:07.88
8. Ayako Hirano (Tsukuba Univ.) - 2:09.13

Long Distance

Women's 5000 m
1. Misaki Onishi (Sekisui Kagaku) - 15:19.37
2. Ayuko Suzuki (Japan Post) - 15:24.47
3. Hanami Sekine (Japan Post) - 15:24.74 - PB
4. Hisami Ishii (Yamada Denki) - 15:29.12 - PB
5. Miyuki Uehara (Daiichi Seimei) - 15:33.49
6. Natsuki Omori (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 15:36.10
7. Riko Matsuzaki (Sekisui Kagaku) - 15:37.82
8. Moeno Nakamura (Universal Entertainment) - 15:37.85
9. Risa Yokoe (Toyota Jidoshokki) - 15:42.58
10. Yukari Abe (Shimamura) - 15:45.04

Men's 5000 m
1. Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project) - 13:37.13
2. Yuichiro Ueno (DeNA) - 13:39.23
3. Shuho Dairokuno (Asahi Kasei) - 13:39.52
4. Tadashi Isshiki (Aoyama Gakuin Univ.) - 13:39.65 - PB
5. Masaki Toda (Nissin Shokuhin) - 13:46.98
6. Takashi Ichida (Asahi Kasei) - 13:48.52
7. Takanori Ichikawa (Hitachi Butsuryu) - 13:48.55
8. Yuta Shitara (Honda) - 13:48.71
9. Aritaka Kajiwara (Atsugi T&F Assoc.) - 13:49.66
10. Hazuma Hattori (Toyo Univ.) - 13:52.90

Hurdles

Women's 100 mH Final +2.1 m/s
1. Ayako Kimura (Edion) - 13.23
2. Haruka Abe (Fukushima Univ.) - 13.38
3. Masumi Aoki (International Pacific Univ.) - 13:38
4. Hitomi Shimura (Toho Ginko) - 13.43
5. Eriko Aiba (Starts) - 13.43
6. Yumi Tanaka (Kansai Prep Daiichi H.S.) - 13.45
7. Sayaka Kobayashi (Aichi Kyoiku Univ.) - 13.49
8. Chisato Kiyoyama (Miyako City) - 13.65

Men's 110 mH Final +2.4 m/s
1. Wataru Yazawa (Descente) - 13.48
2. Genta Masuno (Monteroza) - 13.51
3. Taio Kanai (Tsukuba Univ.) - 13.61
4. Hideki Omura (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 13.66
5. Takumu Furuya (Waseda Univ.) - 13.71
6. Masahiro Kagimoto (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 13.78
7. Taishi Sato (Hitachi Kasei) - 14.61
DQ - Hiroki Fudaba (Monteroza)

Women's 400 mH Final
1. Satomi Kubokura (Niigata Albirex RC) - 56.62
2. Aimi Yoshinara (Art Home) - 57.26
3. Haruko Ishizuka (Higashi Osaka Univ.) - 57.88
4. Moe Oshiden (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 57.89
5. Haruka Shibata (Mizuno) - 58.02
6. Kana Koyama (Funabashi Municipal H.S.) - 58.79
7. Satsuki Umehara (Ritsumeikan Univ.) - 58.92
8. Saki Kodama (Waseda Univ.) - 58.95

Men's 3000 mSC
1. Hironori Tsuetaki (Fujitsu) - 8:36.39
2. Kazuya Shiojiri (Juntendo Univ.) - 8:36.45 - PB
3. Kosei Yamaguchi (Aisan Kogyo) - 8:41.90
4. Aoi Matsumoto (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 8:41.95
5. Taisei Ogino (Kanagawa Univ.) - 8:44.39

Jumps

Men's High Jump
1. Takashi Eto (AGF) - 2.29 m - PB
2. Ryo Sato (Tokai Univ.) - 2.25 m - PB
3. Hiromi Takahari (Hitachi ICT) - 2.20 m

Men's Triple Jump
1. Ryoma Yamamoto (Juntendo Univ.) - 16.52 m +1.7 m/s
2. Daigo Hasegawa (Hitachi ICT) - 16.41 m +0.0 m/s
3. Kazuyoshi Ishikawa (Nagano Yoshida AC) - 16.27 m +2.0 m/s

Throws

Men's Shot Put
1. Satoshi Hatase (Alsok) - 18.53 m
2. Taichi Nakamura (Mizuno) - 17.81 m
3. Reiji Takeda (Nihon Univ.) - 17.50 m

Women's Discus Throw
1. Ayumi Sakaguchi (S.T.T.) - 53.89 m
2. Eriko Nakata (Shikoku Univ.) - 53.21 m - PB
3. Natsumi Fujimori (Juntendo Univ.) - 50.46 m

Men's Discus Throw
1. Yuji Tsutsumi (Alsok) - 60.00 m - PB
2. Go Chinen (Zenrin) - 58.36 m - PB
3. Masateru Yugami (Toyota) - 56.66 m - PB

Paralympics

1500 m T54
1. Masaru Watanabe (Toppan) - 3:06.69
2. Masayuki Higuchi (Puma) - 3:06.79
3. Tomoki Suzuki (Kanto Paraathletics) - 3:07.07

100 m T44/47
1. Tomoki Tagawa (AC-Kita) - 11.32 (T47)
2. Keita Sato (Toyota) - 11.83 (T44)
3. Mikio Tanaka (Chukyo Univ.) - 12.19 (T44)

© 2016 Brett Larner
all rights reserved

Comments

Most-Read This Week

Japan's Olympic Marathon Team Meets the Press

With renewed confidence, Japan's Olympic marathon team will face the total 438 m elevation difference hills of Paris this summer. The members of the women's and men's marathon teams for August's Paris Olympics appeared at a press conference in Tokyo on Mar. 25 in conjunction with the Japan Marathon Championship Series III (JMC) awards gala. Women's Olympic trials winner Yuka Suzuki (Daiichi Seimei) said she was riding a wave of motivation in the wake of the new women's national record. When she watched Honami Maeda (Tenmaya) set the record at January's Osaka International Women's Marathon on TV, Suzuki said she was, "absolutely stunned." Her coach Sachiko Yamashita told her afterward, "When someone breaks the NR, things change," and Suzuki found herself saying, "I want to take my shot." After training for a great run in Paris, she said, "I definitely want to break the NR in one of my marathons after that." Mao

Weekend Racing Roundup

  China saw a new men's national record of 2:06:57 from  Jie He  at the Wuxi Marathon Sunday, but in Japan it was a relatively quiet weekend with mostly cold and rainy amateur-level marathons across the country. At the Tokushima Marathon , club runner Yuhi Yamashita  won the men's race by almost 4 1/2 minutes in 2:17:02, the fastest Japanese men's time of the weekend, but oddly took 22 seconds to get across the starting line. The women's race saw a close finish between the top two, with Shiho Iwane  winning in 2:49:33 over Ayaka Furukawa , 2nd in 2:49:46.  At the 41st edition of the Sakura Marathon in Chiba, Yukie Matsumura  (Comodi Iida) ran the fastest Japanese women's time of the weekend, 2:42:45, to take the win. Club runner Yuki Kuroda  won the men's race in 2:20:08.  Chika Yokota  won the Saga Sakura Marathon women's race in 2:49:33.  Yuki Yamada  won the men's race in 2:21:47 after taking the lead in the final 2 km.  Naoki Inoue  won the 16th r

Sprinter Shoji Tomihisa Retires From Athletics at 105

A retirement ceremony for local masters track and field legend Shoji Tomihisa , 105, was held May 13 at his usual training ground at Miyoshi Sports Park Field in Miyoshi, Hiroshima. Tomihisa began competing in athletics at age 97, setting a Japanese national record 16.98 for 60 m in the men's 100~104 age group at the 2017 Chugoku Masters Track and Field meet. Last year Tomihisa was the oldest person in Hiroshima selected to run as a torchbearer in the Tokyo Olympics torch relay. Due to the coronavirus pandemic the relay on public roads was canceled, and while he did take part in related ceremonies his run was ultimately canceled. Tomihisa recently took up the shot put, but in light of his fading physical strength he made the decision to retire from competition. Around 30 members of the Shoji Tomihisa Booster Club attended the retirement ceremony. After receiving a bouquet of flowers from them Tomihisa in turn gave them a colored paper placard on which he had written the characters