japan running news

Fresh off last weekend's U20 National Championships , Anna Szbrucek  (Ushiku H.S.) and Rei Taya (Osaka Kunei Joshi Gakuin H.S.) were back in the junior women's 2000 mSC to start off the first day of the 2025 National Sports Festival in Shiga. Szbrucek, born in Japan to Slovakian and Bulgarian parents, won the 3000 mSC at the U20 Nationals in 9:57.11, while Taya set an U18 NR of 10:06.59 in the same race. Here Szbrucek dominated, winning in 6:27.03. Taya was 2nd in 6:33.11 to break both the U18 NR of 6:36.81 and the U20 NR of 6:35.84. 3rd placer Mone Kakuchi (Nagano Higashi H.S.) was under both records too, and if there were an official steeplechase high school record for girls Szbrucek would now have two of them to her name. The U20 boys' 5000 m was also at a high level, with the top 13 all breaking 14 minutes. In a sprint finish Haruki Niizuma (Nishiwaki Kogyo H.S.) outran James Karuri (Aomori Yamada H.S.) for the win 13:35.33 to 13:35.85, with Kaito Shudo (Kuras...

The Hokuren Distance Challenge 20th Anniversary Meet , a last chance set up by the JAAF for Japanese athletes to hit 2022 World Championships standards ahead of Sunday's deadline, produced two new qualifier. Pacing the men's 5000 m, Justus Soget (Honda) kept going when the rest of the field dropped off and crossed the line in a new PB of 13:12.90, the 18th Kenyan to qualify for Worlds in the 5000 m. Men's 10000 m pacer Benard Koech (Kyudenko) did the same, getting under the standard in 27:20.66 and also becoming the 18th Kenyan to qualify. Half marathon great Alexander Mutiso (ND Software) almost joined Koech but came up just short in 27:29.85 for 2nd. Among Japanese men the performance of the day was former 1500 m NR holder Nanami Arai (Honda), who ran an all-time JPN #3 PB of 3:36.63 for the win, short of the Worlds standard but adding further to the incremental step up this season for Japanese middle distance as a whole. Hironori Tsuetaki (Fujitsu) gave the 8:22.00...

The JAAF has set up one last chance for its middle and long distance athletes to hit the qualifying standards for next month's World Championships, adding an early meet to the Hokuren Distance Challenge series today ahead of Sunday's deadline to qualify. Streaming starts at 16:00 local time. A breakdown of the races: Men's 800 m - 16:15 - No Japanese man has ever broken the 1:45.20 Worlds standard, but national champion Mikuto Kaneko (Chuo Univ.) is close at 1:45.85. Given that he's currently 57th against the 800 m's 48-deep quota it'll take a NR for him to make it to Eugene. Women's 1000 m - 16:25 - Nationals 800 m top 2 Ayano Shiomi (Iwatani Sangyo) and Nozomi Tanaka (Jidoshokki) are both relatively close to making the quota, but instead of going for the standard or maxing points they're opting for a go at Tanaka's 2:37.72 NR for 1000 m. Only 3 athletes are entered. Women's 5000 m - 16:40 - Nobody in this race is in contention for the Or...

The second meet in the 2021 Hokuren Distance Challenge series happened Wednesday in Fukagawa, Hokkaido. The race of the day was the men's 10000 m A-heat , where 2021 Hakone Ekiden MVP Vincento Yegon  (Tokyo Kokusai Univ.) lead a pack of seven through 9000 m just sub-28 pace. Newcomer Samson Ndirangu  (Ryutsu Keizai Univ.) threw it down with 1000 m, breaking up the pack as he pulled away for the win in 27:43.58. Yegon faded to 4th in 27:50.66, with Naoki Koyama  (Honda) next across the line in 27:55.16, the only Japanese man of the day to break 28 minutes. 2019 Fukuoka International Marathon winner Taku Fujimoto  (Toyota) came up just short, 7th in a 6-second PB of 28:02.54. After barely missing out on a place on the unexpectedly competitive Japanese men's 3000 mSC squad for the Tokyo Olympics, steepler Hironori Tsuetaki (Fujitsu) was quick to turn around the disappointment with a 5-second PB of 28:11.09 to win the 10000 m B-heat . Riki Nakanishi  (Toenec) won...

There was a lot of distance action this weekend, but the biggest performance in Japan came at the Fuse Sprint meet in Tottori. Lucking out with a maxed out legal tailwind of 2.0 m/s, Ryota Yamagata  (Seiko) took 0.02 off the national record in his first sub-10 clocking to win in 9.95. 2nd-place Shuhei Tada (Sumitomo Denko) also scored a PB of 10.01, with sub-10 man Yuki Koike (Sumitomo Denko) 3rd in 10.13. Despite a scratch from former NR holder Yoshihide Kiryu  and a weak run from relay regular Aska Cambridge , the Japanese men's 4x100 m looks to be in a stronger position than ever. Fuse also produced a national record in the women's 100 m hurdles thanks in part to an ideal +1.8 m/s tailwind. Masumi Aoki  (77 Ginko) equalled the 12.87 NR held by Asuka Terada  (Japan Create) for the win, with Terada running 12.89 for 2nd. Both women are still short of the Olympic qualifying standard, but the solid runs will push them up further from their current positions of 32...

The 2019 Hokuren Distance Challenge series wrapped up Monday in Abashiri with two main races, the women's 5000 m and men's 10000 m A-heats. Conditions for most of the day were too windy to produce the kinds of times people had hoped for, but just as the women's 5000 m got underway after sunset the wind died down enough for the race to go out on track for the Doha World Championships standard of 15:22.00. Four of the top five women from last month's National Championships 5000 m were in the field, of whom only national champion Tomoka Kimura (Shiseido) had already cleared the Doha standard inside the window. 2nd and 3rd-placers Rina Nabeshima (Japan Post) and Ririka Hironaka (Japan Post) both needed to clear it to join Kimura on the team, but while Hironaka faded off pace in the second half it took a long push from 1000 m for Nabeshima to get there. Which she did, just, winning in 15:21.40. Also the 10000 m national champion , Nabeshima was the fifth Japanese ...

The World Championships in athletics were first held in Helsinki, Finland in 1983. Up until the 1991 Tokyo World Championships they were held once every four years, but beginning with the 1993 Stuttgart World Championships they switched to an every other year format. London this year was the 16th edition. To date 68 men with Hakone Ekiden experience have competed in the World Championships, with three of them winning medals in the marathon. In Tokyo in 1991 Hiromi Taniguchi became the first Japanese World Championships gold medalist, raising the excitement level at the games.  As a student at Nittai University Taniguchi had won the Hakone Ekiden's downhill Sixth Stage three years in a row from 1981 to 1983. As a fourth-year in 1983 he set a new stage record of 57:47. Course changes have rendered his record an historical artifact, but Taniguchi is still considered Hakone's greatest downhill runner. At the 1999 Seville World Championships and 2005 Helsinki World Championsh...

The men's marathon aside, the third day of competition at the London World Championships was largely a bust for the Japanese team. Out of thirteen athletes in five disciplines only two advanced out of the opening rounds. In the men's 110 m hurdles National Championships 3rd-placer Genta Masuno advanced to the semifinals with a time of 13.58 (+1.3 m/s) for 4th in his heat, but unable to better that performance in his semi he failed to make the final. 400 m hurdles national champion Takatoshi Abe did better, taking 2nd in his heat in 49.65 to move on to Monday's semifinals. London World Championships Day Three Japanese Results London, England, 8/6/17 click here for complete results Men's 110 m Hurdles Heat 1   (-1.2 m/s) 1. Omar McLeod (Jamaica) - 13.23 - Q 2. Balazs Baji (Hungary) - 13.35 - Q 3. Eddie Lovett (Virgin Islands) - 13.41 - Q ----- 7. Shunya Takayama (Japan) - 13.65 Men's 110 m Hurdles Heat 2   (+1.3 m/s) 1. Devon Allen (U.S.A.) - 13.26 ...

The Japanese team at the London World Championships has few real medal prospects. Its best chances come in the men’s 4x100 m, where the roster includes ever newer and faster blood than last year’s Olympic silver medal-winning team in 18-year-old Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Tokyo T&F Assoc.) and 21-year-old Shuhei Tada (Kwansei Gakuin Univ.), and the men’s race walks, where the 20 km features Eiki Takahashi (Fujitsu), #2 in the world this season, and Hirooki Arai (SDF Academy), the 50 km Rio bronze medalist. If there is another solid medal prospect it comes in the women’s marathon, where Japanese athletes have won eleven medals in fifteen World Championships to date. Yuka Ando (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) ran the fastest-ever debut by a Japanese woman with a 2:21:36 at March’s Nagoya Women’s Marathon, putting her at 5th on the London entry list. There have been calls for her to be cautious in coming back with another hard marathon so soon after her first, but a run anything like wh...

After some last-minute qualifications and IAAF invitations, Japan will field a team of 50 including three alternates for next week's London World Championships . Javelin throw national record holder Yuki Ebihara (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) was named captain of the women's team of 14, with marathoner Yuki Kawauchi (Saitama Pref. Gov't) captaining the men's team of 36. The complete Japanese roster with best times within the London qualifying window: Men's Sprints Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Tokyo T&F Assoc.) -  100 m / 200 m  10.05 / 20.32 Shuhei Tada (Kwansei Gakuin Univ.) -  100 m - 10.08 Aska Cambridge (Nike) -  100 m - 10.08 Shota Iizuka (Mizuno) -  200 m - 20.40 Takamasa Kitagawa (Juntendo Univ.) -  400 m - 45.48 Additional Relay Members Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo Univ.) -  4x100 m - 10.04 Kenji Fujimitsu (Zenrin) - 4x100 m - 20.47 Kazushi Kimura (Yondenko) -  4x400 m - 45.54 Kentaro Sato (Fujitsu) -  4x400 m - 45.67 Yuzo Kanemaru (...

The JAAF has made a series of announcements over the last week confirming additions to its small team for next month's London World Championships. Along with previously announced rosters for track and field events, combined events and road events, the following athletes have been added to the Japanese team. Relay members are pending IAAF confirmation. The final complete team roster is expected next week. Men's 400 m Hurdles Ryo Kajiki (Josai Univ.) - 49.33 Yusuke Ishida (Waseda Univ.) - 49.35 Men's 3000 m Steeplechase Hironori Tsuetaki (Fujitsu) - 8:29.05 Men's 4 x 400 m Relay Yuzo Kanemaru (Otsuka Seiyaku) - 45.76 Kosuke Horii (Sumitomo Denko) - 45.88 Women's Javelin Throw Yuki Ebihara (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 61.95 m © 2017 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

The final meet in Japan's Hokuren Distance Challenge series, Thursday's Abashiri meet was set up to give people one last chance to clear the qualifying standards for next month's London World Championships ahead of the fast-approaching deadline. Temperatures were far above normal for northern Hokkaido through much of the day, the mid-afternoon peak reported at over 36C at the time of the men's 800 m A-heat and still at 25C at the start of the five standard-chasing races in the evening. 網走女子5000A https://t.co/GquthBd13K — ホクレン・ディスタンスチャレンジ2017 (@hokurendc2017) July 13, 2017 The best race of the day was the women's 5000 m A-heat. With two women already confirmed for London the third spot on the team was up for grabs. First in line under the JAAF's criteria for addition, top three at Nationals and under the 15:22.00 standard, was 16-year-old Shuri Ogasawara (Yamanashi Gakuin H.S.), 3rd at Nationals in an U18 national record of 15:23.56. Next in line would...

Mid-day rain meant a track too wet for fast times in most of the finals on the last day of the 101st Japanese National Track and Field Championships Sunday at Osaka's Yanmar Stadium Nagai, but first-time 100 m national champions Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Tokyo T&F Assoc.) and Kana Ichikawa (Mizuno) didn't let that stop them from scoring the sprint double with 200 m national titles to wrap the day. Having already downed 100 m and 200 m national record holder Chisato Fukushima (Sapporo T&F Assoc.) in the 100 m, Ichikawa was out in front throughout the 200 m, shy of the London standard in 23.63 (-0.2) but still winning by more than 0.10. Not her usual self, Fukushima was only 5th in 24.01. In the men's race the general assumption seemed to be that Sani Brown would drop Japan's first sub-20, but at 20.32 (+0.3) he wasn't close, even if under the London standard. Kenji Fujimitsu (Zenrin) was next in 20.47, with Rio Olympics 4x100 m silver medalist Shota ...

The 101st edition of Japan's National Track and Field Championships takes place Friday through Sunday at Osaka's Yanmar Stadium Nagai. It's a strange time in some ways. Despite the overall upward trend spurred on by the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the count of athletes who might make the London World Championships off their performances at Nationals is low. The marathon, walks, combined events and relays aside, based on current qualifying times only the men's 100 m, women's 5000 m and women's 10000 m could field full three-member squads, and not many events look set to join that list. The progress over the last few years in men's distance on the track seems to have stalled, with nobody qualified for London in the 5000 m and the only man qualified in the 10000 m already a scratch. Is it a just a hiccup or a sign of problems in the buildup to 2020? Visit the JAAF's  National Track and Field Championships  website for entry and start lists, live results, phot...

by Brett Larner With ekiden season just starting to break track action was heavy across the country as teams started to sharpen their lineups after summer mileage.  At the National Corporate Track and Field Championships in Osaka, Rio Olympics 4x100 m silver medalist Ryota Yamagata (Seiko) ran a 10.03 (+0.5 m/s) PB and meet record to beat his Rio relay teammate Asuka Cambridge (Dome), drawing ever closer to Japan's first sub-10 clocking.  Another member of the Rio team, Shota Iizuka (Mizuno) duly won the 200 m in 20.57 (+0.0 m/s), doubling in the 4x100 m and running a rare 4x400 m to help bring Mizuno national corporate titles in both, Mizuno breaking the 4x400 m meet record with a 3:04.51 win. A meet record also fell in the men's 3000 mSC, where two-time national champion Hironori Tsuetaki (Team Fujitsu) ran an all-time Japanese #7 8:29.78 for the win.  Times were also fast by Japanese standards in the women's 1500 m, where Kenyan Ann Karindi (Toyota Jidoshokki...