japan running news

  Afternoon thunderstorms interrupted some of the later events on the second day of the National University Track and Field Championships in Kumagaya, Saitama, but Jason Atuobeng (Fukuoka Univ.) got in before that with a meet record 18.18 m to win the men's shot put title. Atuobeng's opening 17.67 m would have been enough for the win, but on his 2nd attempt he went 12 cm over the year-old meet record with the 18.18 m throw that proved to be his best of the day. His 3rd attempt was over the old record too at 18.17 m, but Atuobeng couldn't get any closer to his pre-meet goal of Japan's first-ever throw over 19 m. In other field event results: Koki Fujihara (Toyo Univ.) led the men's long jump with a 2nd attempt of 8.05 (+1.2), but on his final attempt Yuto Toriumi (Nihon Univ.) dropped a 8.07 m (+0.8) jump to steal the win. Megumi Dainobu (Nittai Univ.) and Akari Osakaya (Sonoda Gakuen Joshi Univ.) both cleared 4.00 m in the women's pole vault, but with Dain...

Following a record-breaking Day 1 , the National University Individual Track and Field Championships continued Saturday at Kanagawa's Lemon Gas Stadium. 2nd-year Jason Atuobeng (Fukuoka Univ.) turned in the performance of the day, throwing a 20 cm PB on his final attempt to break the men's shot put meet record with a winning throw of 18.42 m. The 20-year-old Atuobeng, who broke 18 m for the first time last month, came in at all-time Japanese #7, and with just 24 cm to go to the collegiate record and 41 cm to the national record he's due to be one of the highest-potential Japanese men on the field over the next few years. 2nd-year Hanae Aoyama (Konan Univ.), 19, had the women's performance of the day, missing the women's 100 m meet record by just 0.02 as she won the final in a PB 11.50 (+1.0). That was enough to move her up to #6 on the Japanese all-time collegiate list. Nagisa Takahashi , one of the just-graduated athletes still allowed to compete in the meet, ...

On-and-off rain and wind from the typhoon passing to the south meant unstable conditions on the second day of the 90th National University Track and Field Championships in Kumagaya, Saitama, some people lucking out and others out of luck.  With Tokyo Olympian  Mei Kodama  running 2nd, the  Fukuoka University women broke the 4x100 m relay meet record of 44.59 set three years ago by  Nittai University . Fukuoka ran 44.51 for the win, not only clearing the old meet record but also going under the collegiate record of 44.56. Runner-up Ritsumeikan University  was almost a second behind in 45.49. Kodama also won the 100 m final in 11.51 (+0.5), 0.16 off the individual meet record she set last year. In his first-round heat NR holder and Olympic team member  Shunsuke Izumiya (Juntendo Univ.) crushed the 110 m hurdles meet record of 13.67 that had stood since 2001, clocking 13.44 (+0.1). His teammate and Olympic alternate Rachid Muratake  (Juntendo Univ...