London World Championships - Day One Japanese Results

All three Japanese athletes in the men's 100 m made it through to the semifinals on the opening day of the 2017 London World Championships. 18-year-old Abdul Hakim Sani Brown turned heads by tying his 10.05 PB to win Heat Two despite a -0.6 m/s headwind. Rio Olympics 4x100 m silver medalist Aska Cambridge, who suffered a minor injury at June's National Championships, was clearly not back to peak form, running only 10.21 for 4th in Heat Four to squeeze through to the finals on time.

Unluckily drawing a starting position next to Usain Bolt (Jamaica) in Heat Six, Shuhei Tada held up to the pressure of his World Championships debut as delivered his usual quick start to lead almost the entire way. Bolt ran him down but it took almost until the line for James Dasolu (Great Britain) and Jimmy Vicaut (France) to catch up, but despite taking 4th Tada made it through on time in 10.19. His result showed why track and field is a great sport. Three months ago he was almost unknown college student. Today he lined up next to the best in the world and represented.

Although Cambridge lucked through to the semifinals, he was so far off peak that he looks like a question mark for the 4x100 m. There's a very good chance he'll be replaced by his Rio teammate, alternate Yoshihide Kiryu, who ran 10.05 two weeks ago at a low-key meet in Tokyo after performing poorly at the National Championships in June. With 200 m man Shota Iizuka also not looking 100% there's even a chance that Kiryu could be the only member of the Rio silver medal squad to start the relay in London.

But before that comes Saturday's 100 m semifinals and final. No Japanese man has ever made it to the final, and to get there Sani Brown or one of the others will probably have to deliver the country's first-ever sub-10 clocking. Safe to say TV viewership ratings in Japan will be on the high end for the semis.

London World Championships Day One Japanese Results

London, England, 8/4/17
click here for complete results

Men's 100 m Heat 2 (-0.6 m/s)
1. Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Japan) - 10.05 (PB) - Q
2. Yohan Blake (Jamaica) - 10.13 - Q
3. Zhenye Xie (China) - 10.13 - Q
4. Emre Zafer Barnes (Turkey) - 10.22 - q
5. Emmanuel Callender (Trinidad and Tobago) - 10.25
6. Jan Volko (Slovakia) - 10.25
7. David Lima (Portugal) - 10.41
8. Ambdoul Karim Riffayn (Comoros) - 10.72

Men's 100 m Heat 4 (-0.2 m/s)
1. Bingtian Su (China) - 10.03 - Q
2. Chijindu Ujah (Great Britain) - 10.07 - Q
3. Christopher Belcher (U.S.A.) - 10.13 - Q
4. Aska Cambridge (Japan) - 10.21 - q
5. Joseph Millar (New Zealand) - 10.31
6. Mark Otieno Odhambo (Kenya) - 10.37
7. Jeremy Dodson (Samoa) - 10.52
DQ - Mosito Lehata (Lesotho)

Men's 100 m Heat 6 (+0.3 m/s)
1. Usain Bolt (Jamaica) - 10.07 - Q
2. James Dasaolu (Great Britain) - 10.13 - Q
3. Jimmy Vicaut (France) - 10.15 - Q
4. Shuhei Tada (Japan) - 10.19 - q
5. Hassan Taftian (Iran) - 10.34
6. Brendon Rodney (Canada) - 10.36
7. Warren Fraser (Bahamas) - 10.42
8. Diego Palomeque (Colombia) - 10.51

text © 2017 Brett Larner, all rights reserved
photo c/o Ekiden Mania, © 2017 Kazuyuki Sugimatsu, all rights reserved

Kawabata Over Kawauchi at Takashimadaira 20 km

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This year's race was fronted by a group of runners from Izumo Ekiden winner Tokai University who didn't make Tokai's final Izumo roster, by London World Championships marathoner Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) and others from yesterday's Yosenkai winner Teikyo University and the Hakone-qualified Juntendo University and Komazawa University. In the same cool and lightly rainy…

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The 23rd edition of the Shimantogawa Ultramarathon took place Oct. 15 in Shimanto, Kochi. 1822 runners started the 100 km division, where Yoshiki Kawauchi (26, Saitama T&F Assoc.) and Aiko Kanematsu (37, Team RxL) took the men's and women's titles for the first time.

The 100 km division started under a heavy downpour at 5:30 a.m. in front of Warabioka J.H.S. The 576 participants in the 60 km division got off 4 1/2 hours later from Koinobori Park, with both races finishing at Nakamura H.S.

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In the field this year are six, probably all six, of the amateur Japan women to have broken 2:40 in the last three years. Last year's top three, Yoshiko Sakamoto (F.O.R.), Yumiko Kinoshita (SWAC) and Hisae Yoshimatsu (Shunan City Hall) lead the way at the 2:36 +/- level, with a second trio of Marie Imada (Iwatani Sangyo), Mitsuko Ino (R2 Nishin Nihon) and Chika Tawara (RxL) all around the 2:39 level.

Last year's winner Sakamoto and 3rd placer Yoshimatsu squared off in September at Germany's Volksbank Muenster Marathon, Yoshimatsu tying Sakamoto's Osaka winning time of 2:36:02 to take 3rd over …

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