Kora Lands Silver - World U20 Championships Day Four Japanese Results

Two-time national high school champion Ayaka Kora kept Japan's medal count moving on Day Three of the Tampere World U20 Championships with a silver in the women's long jump. A 6.37 m (+1.2 m/s) on her second attempt was good enough to move her into the silver position behind only Germany's Lea-Jasmin Riecke, whose PB of 6.51 m (+0.4 m/s) on her own second attempt gave her the top spot. There the two remained through the rest of the final, American Tara Davis giving Kora a bit of a scare on her final attempt with a jump of 6.36 (+0.0 m/s) that earned Davis bronze.

The women's 3000 m steeplechase final was the only other final to feature a Japanese athlete. Already having moved in the all-time #4 Japanese U20 position in the heats, Manami Nishiyama improved on that with a 10:00.49 for 9th, well out of the medals but just missing a JAAF-coveted top eight position. After her performance Matsuyama University, where Nishiyama is a student, now owns five of the ten fastest Japanese women's junior steeple marks including the record and three of the top four.

In qualifying rounds the most anticipated race of the day was the men's 4x100 m relay. The Japanese men lived up to expectations, beating the U.S.A. to win their heat in 39.18. Only Germany was faster, winning their heat in a world-leading 39.13. Asian Junior 1500 m gold medalist Ririka Hironaka qualified for the women's 1500 m final, 8th in her heat in 4:19.03. Yuri Yoshida and Yuki Akiyama also made it through the opening rounds in the women's 100 m hurdles and men's triple jump respectively.

World U20 Championships Day Four Japanese Results

Tampere, Finand, 7/13/18
complete results

Finals
Women's 3000 m Steeplechase Final
1. Celliphine Chepteek Chespol (Kenya) - 9:12.78 - MR
2. Peruth Chemutai (Uganda) - 9:18.87
3. Winferd Mutile Yavi (Bahrain) - 9:23.47
-----
9. Manami Nishiyama (Japan) - 10:00.49 - PB - all-time JPN U20 #4

Women's Long Jump Final
1. Lea-Jasmin Riecke (Germany) - 6.51 m +0.4 m/s - PB
2. Ayaka Kora (Japan) - 6.37 m +1.2 m/s
3. Tara Davis (U.S.A.) - 6.36 m +0.0 m/s

Semifinals
Women's 200 m Semifinal 1 -0.5 m/s
1. Polina Miller (ANA) - 23.44 - Q
2. Corinna Schwab (Germany) - 23.57 - Q
3. Alisha Rees (Great Britain) - 23.67
-----
5. Shuri Aono (Japan) - 24.60

Men's 400 m Hurdles Semifinal 2
1. Malik James-King (Jamaica) - 50.34 - Q
2. Mahdi Pirjahan (Iran) - 50.98 - U20 NR - Q
3. Alex Knibbs (Great Britain) - 50.99
-----
5. Yusuke Shirao (Japan) - 51.21

Qualifying Rounds
Women's 1500 m Heat 2
1. Dinke Firdisa (Ethiopia) - 4:16.85 - Q
2. Edina Jebitok (Kenya) - 4:17.07 - Q
3. Katrina Robinson (New Zealand) - 4:17.93 - Q
-----
8. Ririka Hironaka (Japan) - 4:19.03 - q

Women's 200 m Heat 5 +0.7 m/s
1. Polina Miller (ANA) - 23.17 - Q
2. Martyna Kotwila (Poland) - 23.21 - U20 NR, Q
3. Akvile Andriukaityte (Lithuania) - 23.35 - U20 NR, Q
4. Shuri Aono (Japan) - 23.93 - Q

Men'x 4x100 m Relay Heat 3
1. Japan - 39.18 - Q
2. U.S.A. - 39.49 - Q
3. Trinidad and Tobago - 39.67 - q

Women's 100 m Hurdles Heat 6 -1.1 m/s
1. Tia Jones (U.S.A.) - 13.25 - Q
2. Yuri Yoshida (Japan) - 13.38 - Q
3. Lateisha Willis (Australia) - 13.92 - Q

Men's Triple Jump Qualification Group A
1. Martin Lamou (France) - 16.26 m -0.2 m/s - Q
2. Kangaraj Kamalraj (India) - 15.98 m +1.4 m/s - Q
3. Qinwei Lin (China) - 15.80 m -0.1 m/s - PB, Q
-----
5. Yuki Akiyama (Japan) - 15.70 m +0.1 m/s - q

Men's Javelin Throw Qualification Group B
1. Nash Lowis (Australia) - 74.38 m - PB, Q
2. Sahil Silwal (India) - 73.22 m - Q
3. Anro Van Eeden (South Africa) - 72.22 m - Q
-----
12. Masafumi Azechi (Japan) - 60.56 m

© 2018 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

Arao Becomes 1st Man in 40 Years to Score Back-to-Back Ome Road Race Wins

30 km is an under-appreciated distance, and both of Japan's big races at that distance happened Sunday. At the Ome Road Race in western Tokyo's mountains, Sydney Marathon 6th-placer Masato Arao (ND Software) became the first man since the great Kunimitsu Ito in 1985-1986 to win back-to-back years. Arao, who finished 39th of 40 on his leg at the New Year Ekiden last month, stayed in the pack through 20 km before going on the attack, putting over a minute on New Year Ekiden Sixth Stage CR breaker Yudai Shimazu (GMO). Sub-1:31 winning times are rare on the tough and hilly Ome course, but Arao's 1:30:54 almost equaled his 1:30:50 from last year, making him the first Japanese man ever to do it twice and second only to CR holder Ezekiel Cheboitibin . Next up Arao races the Tokyo Marathon, where he is targeting sub-2:06. Shimazu was 2nd in 1:31:58 and Yuta Nakayama (JR Higashi Nihon) 3rd in 1:32:07. Cheboitibin was only 9th, running almost 8 minutes off his CR in 1:36:42. Shi...

Nagoya Women's Marathon Elite Field

Last year's top 3 Sheila Chepkirui , Sayaka Sato and Eunice Chebichii Chumba are back for this year's Nagoya Women's Marathon on Mar. 8, but things are being set up more for it to be a race between Chepkirui, 2:17:49 in Berlin 2023, Aynalem Desta , 2:17:37 in Amsterdam last fall, and Japanese NR holder Honami Maeda , 2:18:59 at the Osaka International Women's Marathon in 2024. Aynalem has the freshest sub-2:20 of the 3, with neither Chepkirui nor Maeda having done it in 2 years. Maeda's only recent result is a 1:10:07 from Houston last month, but when she ran her NR she didn't have any kind of tuneup race to indicate her fitness so it's probably best not to read too much into that. If it goes out as a 2:18 race those are the only 3 who can probably hang with it. If it turns out to be more of a 2:20 race like when Chepkirui won in 2:20:40 last year then there's a group of 7 at the 2:20-2:22 level who will be in the picture, including Chumba, Selly Chep...

Osaka Marathon Preview

The Osaka Marathon is Sunday, one of Japan's biggest mass-participation races and the next stop on the calendar for its elite marathoners hoping to qualify for the L.A. Olympics marathon trials in the fall of 2027. Last year it snowed mid-race, but this year is looking warmer than ideal given the season, with sunny skies, almost no wind, and temps forecast to be 11˚ at the start and rising to 19˚ by the time the winners are finishing. NHK is broadcasting Osaka with a heavy emphasis on the men's race, and if you've got a VPN you should be able to watch it from overseas. There's also official streaming on Youtube starting at 8:30 a.m. local time, although it doesn't look like it's the same as what NHK will be showing. Given Osaka's history at the elite level as the continuation of the men-only Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon, the women's field is small relative to the men's, just enough to tick World Athletics' label requirements and with almost no do...

japan running news

Search This Blog