japan running news

by Brett Larner

scroll down to results for video of all races



The first university to bring Kenyans to run in Japan, Yamanashi Gakuin University debuted its newest find, first-year Enock Omwamba, on the first weekend of Japan's biggest and best university meet, the Kanto Regional University Track and Field Championships, May 12-13 in Tokyo's National Stadium.  Omwamba got the weekend started by taking down rival Nihon University's Kenyan first-year Daniel Kitonyi in the 1500 m, winning the final in 3:45.92.

 Returning the next day in the 10000 m, Omwamba stayed at the rear of the lead pack throughout the race as Nihon University senior Benjamin Gandu battled with Hakone Ekiden winner Toyo University's ace twins Keita Shitara and Yuta Shitara.  The Shitara twins worked together to crack Gandu and other at the front of the race, alternating the lead and pushing the pace until they were alone.  Omwamba came on strong in the final 2000 m, gaining contact with the twins, pas…

by Brett Larner

2010 Asian Junior Women's 3000 m Champion Mahiro Akamatsu of Kojokan H.S. came up agonizingly short of completing the 1500 m and 3000 m double on Aug. 2 at the 2010 National High School Track and Field Championships in Amami. With the 1500 m title under her belt Akamatsu coasted through yesterday's 3000 m qualifying heats, but on the final day of the 2010 Nationals she fell to the last sprint of Toyokawa H.S. Kenyan Beatrice Murugi Wainaina in the final. Wainaina, who had the fastest qualifying time in the three heats, 9:20.78, just clipped Akamatsu at the line as she won in 9:11.51. Akamatsu was 2nd in 9:11.60, 0.54 off her PB but a credible time given the sub-tropical weather. 3rd-placer Mary Wydira of Sendai Ikuei H.S. was the only other runner under 9:15, finishing in 9:12.33. The top 11 finishers all broke 9:30 including the identical twin Kyuma sisters Haruka, who ran last month's World Junior Championships 3000 m, and Moe, who will run this month'…

http://www.iaaf.org/WJC10/news/kind=100/newsid=57463.html
2010 World Junior Championships Top Results click here for complete results Women's 3000 m 1. Mercy Cherono (KEN) - 8:55.07 2. Emebet Anteneh (ETH) - 8:55.24 - PB 3. Layes Abdullayeva (AZE) - 8:55.33 ----- 12. Haruka Kyuma (JPN) - 9:22.13 18. Kanako Fujishi (JPN) - 9:28.04
Both Japanese runners significantly unperformed, Kyuma being ranked 7th and Fujishi 9th going into the competition.

by Brett Larner

The 2010 World Junior Championships in athletics begin tomorrow, July 19, in Moncton, Canada and Japan is sending a solid team with more realistic medal chances than its senior teams typically have at the World Championships level. Japan's best chance for a gold medal may be in the women's 10000 m race walk, where Kumiko Okada's PB of 45:23.83 is well over a minute better than her closest rival Chiaki Asada. Be this as it may, the lion's share of the attention is likely to be on Japan's other legitimate gold medal contender, sprinter Shota Iizuka in the men's 200 m.

Iizuka, a first-year at Chuo University, gained international attention in May thanks to a Youtube video of his stunning anchor leg for Chuo in the men's 4 x 100 m relay at the Kanto Regional University Championships. In that world-class performance Iizuka singlehandedly gave Chuo a one-second margin of victory and the national collegiate record of 38.54. Iizuka went on to win the …

by Brett Larner

2009 had its ups and downs for Japanese women, but in sum it was a positive year. As Mizuki Noguchi (Team Sysmex) fades into memory no one has really stepped up to take her place at the top, but the trend was not limited to Japan alone. Worldwide it was a down year. The average of the top ten fastest times of the year, 2:24:09, was the slowest since 1997 and German Irina Mikitenko's 2:22:11 in London was the slowest world-leader since 1996. The average of the top ten Japanese performances, 2:26:02 this year, has not changed much in the last four years, meaning that relative to world standards 2009 was Japan's best since 1996. Top woman Yoko Shibui (Team Mitsui Sumitomo Kaijo) ran 2:23:42 to win January's Osaka International Women's Marathon and was ranked 3rd worldwide. Last year the top Japanese woman, Yoshimi Ozaki (Team Daiichi Seimei) ran 2:23:30 and was only ranked 9th.

Ozaki gets the best-of-the-year honors for her silver medal in the marathon at th…

by Brett Larner

The identical twin Kyuma sisters Haruka and Moe made up the Japanese contingent in the girls' 3000 m on the first day of the 2009 World Youth Championships in Sudtirol, Italy. Moe Kyuma, who made a memorable impression with her dynamic performance at January's National Interprefectural Women's Ekiden, challenged the lead pack of Kenyans Purity Cherotich Rionoripo and Jackline Chepngeno and Ethiopians Genet Yalew and Emebet Anteneh. Unable to sustain what was for her and all but eventual winner Rionoripo a PB pace, Kyuma finished one second behind Anteneh in 5th, clocking 9:19.73. Haruka Kyuma, marginally the stronger of the sisters, had a weak showing as she finished second to last in 9:54.49.

2009 World Youth Championships - Top Finishers
click division header for complete results
Girls' 3000 m
1. Purity Cherotich Rionoripo (Kenya) - 9:03.79
2. Jackline Chepngeno (Kenya) - 9:05.93 - PB
3. Genet Yalew (Ethiopia) - 9:08.95 - PB
4. Emebet Anteneh (Ethiopia) - …

by Brett Larner


Click picture for video highlights.








Identical twin sisters Moe and Haruka Kyuma were the surprise stars of the 2009 National Interprefectural Women’s Ekiden on Jan. 11, the two junior high school students making up most of Kyoto Prefecture’s 1 minute 24 second margin of victory in its 5th-straight national title and putting anchor Kazue Kojima in position for a comfortable anchor run.

47 teams, one from each of Japan’s prefectures, competed in the 27th running of the nine-stage 42.195 km national competition in Kyoto which teams up professional runners with university, high school and junior high school runners. Two stages were reserved for junior high school runners and two for high school athletes, the other five stages being a mix of runners from all four categories. Slightly windy conditions hampered defending champion Kyoto’s chances of breaking its course record of 2:14:58 from last year’s running but did not prevent two new stage records.

1st Stage – 6.0 km
Yurika Na…