Skip to main content

Kentaro Sato Aiming for Sub-44.5 at Olympic Trials to Seal Up Paris Spot

 

Japanese men's 400 m national record holder Kentaro Sato (Fujitsu) sat for online interviews on June 18. Sato's 44.77 NR cleared the Paris Olympics qualifying standard of 45.00, and if he wins the National Championships later this month in Niigata he'll be named to the Paris team. "To put it simply, it's the meet that decides who's #1 in Japan," he said. "I haven't won a national title yet. I'm preparing to run for time, for place, and for an Olympic spot."

As he trains Sato is paying close attention to the condition of his left Achilles tendon, which he injured two years ago. "I'm more focused on time than place," he said. "If I can run 44 at Nationals then I'll get the place I'm looking for. If I can put together a 400 m the way I want to do it then I can run a national record. That means focusing on something faster than just the NR. Sub-44.5 is what I'm thinking."

Also entered at Nationals are top domestic rivals Fuga Sato (Mizuno), 44.88 last year, and Yuki Joseph Nakajima (Fujitsu), 45.03. It'll be the ultimate Japanese showdown, and an important factor in choosing the members of the Olympic 4x400 m medal contender relay team. As the team leader, Sato hopes for a high-level battle, saying, "I'm really happy the level in Japan keeps going up. I hope everyone on the team gets there with a sub-45 time."


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Japanese Olympic Trials Day One Preview

Japan's Olympic trials, doubling as the National Championships and National U20 Championships , start tomorrow at Niigata's massive Denka Big Swan Stadium. In a lot of events it's more of a question of whether anyone is going to make the Paris team than who is going to fill the three spots, but it's still a National Championships and there's a lot of good competition ahead. Live results will be here . Breaking down the senior events on Thursday's schedule with top people making the starting lists: Finals Men's Hammer Throw Final  - 15:00 Defending national champ Shota Fukuda  is the only one close to the Paris quota of 32, currently at 39th. A win close to his 73.91 m season best would put him just 2 or 3 points out of the quota. Ryota Kashimura  and Tatsuto Nakagawa  have both thrown over 72 m recently and could take the national title away if Fukuda is off his best. Shota Fukuda (Sumitomo Denko) - 73.91 m SB / PB Ryota Kashimura (Yamada Holdings) - 72.92 m
1 comment
Read more

Police Arrest 20-Year-Old Man Charged With Assaulting Female Runner at Popular Tokyo Running Spot

A 20-year-old man has been arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a female runner along the banks of the Tama River in Ota Ward, Tokyo. "I've been stuck at home because of the coronavirus, so I wanted to go for a walk and move my body a bit," the man told police. Local resident Hirai Muroyama , 20, of no known occupation, was arrested on charges of sexual assault. He is accused of acts including grabbing the breasts of a woman in her 20s at around 10 p.m. on May 31 along the banks of the Tama River. According to police, the woman was taking a break in her run when Muroyama approached her silently from behind and grabbed her breasts before running away. Under police interrogation Muroyama told investigators, "I've been stuck at home because of the coronavirus, so I wanted to go out for a walk and move my body. I'd had a few drinks and was feeling pretty hype. She was totally my type." source article: https://news.tbs.co.jp/newseye/tbs_newsey
Post a Comment
Read more

Junior High School Student Hit by Shot at Regional Track Meet, Suffers Fractured Skull

On June 16 at a junior high school track and field championships meet in Aomori a student was hit in the head by a metal shot put ball and suffered a fractured skull. The incident happened at Kazuhiro Group Athletics Stadium in Aomori at the Tosei Region qualifying meet for this summer's prefectural junior high school sports festival. According to the Tosei Junior High School Athletics Association, the incident occurred just before 8:00 a.m. on June 16 at the warmup track next to the main stadium. While warming up a student threw the shot, which hit another student on the side of the head. The injured student remained conscious and was immediately taken to the hospital, where they were treated for a fractured skull. Their current condition has not been released. A statement issued by the TJHSAA said, "We will conduct a thorough investigation of this accident and strive to ensure that it does not happen again." source article: https://www.aba-net.com/news/news-115882.html
Post a Comment
Read more