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Showing posts with the label Keisuke Ushiro

Ushiro Gold, Yamagata Oh So Close - Asian Games Athletics Day Two Japanese Results

Japan tripled its medal count on the second day of athletics competition at the Jakarta Asian Games, adding another gold, its first silver and two more bronze medals to its tally. The silver came in the morning session with Keiko Nogami's 2nd place finish in the women's marathon, previously covered here.

The gold and one bronze came in an exciting decathlon that saw defending champ Keisuke Ushiro and teammate Akihiko Nakamura in 2nd and tied for 3rd going into the 1500 m. Ushiro needed a 2-second margin over leader Suttisak Singkhon of Thailand to move into the gold medal position, which he did with ease. Tied with China's Kewei Gong, Nakamura needed as much of a margin as he could get over Gong to finish in the medals and 42 seconds over Singkhon to take silver. Nakamura went out hard, but although he had no trouble putting Gong away the margin he needed to make up to Singkhon was just too big.

The other bronze came via one of Japan's biggest hopes. With a best of 10…
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London World Championships - Day Nine Japanese Results

Following up on its silver medal at the Rio Olympics, the Japanese men's 4x100 m relay squad delivered the first Japanese medal of the London World Championships as it took bronze behind hosts Great Britain and U.S.A. Swapping in alternate Kenji Fujimitsu for ailing anchor Aska Cambridge in the final, the team featured only two starting members of the Rio lineup. Lead runner Shuhei Tada, a student at Kwansei Gakuin University who burst onto the scene in May, again proved himself the best new development in Japanese men's sprinting with a fast start. Rio members Shota Iizuka and Yoshihide Kiryu did their bits on second and third to keep Japan even with Jamaica in 3rd before Fujimitsu delivered the goods.

With bronze at the Beijing Olympics and silver in Rio last year it was Japan's first-ever World Championships men's 4x100 m relay medal. At age Fujimitsu may not make it to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but with Cambridge, 200 m finalist Abdul Hakim Sani Brown and Rio team …
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London World Championships - Day Eight Japanese Results

Finishing 4th in her opening round heat, national champion Ayako Kimura became the first Japanese woman to make a World Championships 100 m hurdles semifinal, running 13.15 to auto-qualify. In Semifinal 2 she was unable to match that performance, finishing last in 13.29. National Championships runner-up Hitomi Shimura ran 13.29 in her heat and did not move on to the semifinals.

In the men's 1500 m semifinals, Japan-based junior world record holder Ronald Kwemoi struggled with a recent injury and failed to advance to the final. Running in the same heat, American Johnny Gregorek, who ran last year's Izumo Ekiden as part of the Ivy League Select Team, moved up from last place over the last 300 m to snag the last spot in the final, the only U.S. man to make the 1500 m final.

In the men's high jump, national champion Takashi Eto cleared 2.22 m for 9th in his qualification group and did not advance. In the decathlon, at the end of the first day of competition Japan's Akihik…
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Rio de Janeiro Olympics Athletics Day Seven Japanese Results

by Brett Larner

Japan's top two decathletes, Suzuki Hamamatsu AC teammates Keisuke Ushiro and Akihiko Nakamura, wrapped up their Rio Olympics with good second day performances to move up through the rankings.  24th and 25th after the first day of competition, Ushiro advanced to 20th, just shy of the 8000 point mark.  Nakamura won his 1500 m heat by over 10 seconds in 4:18.37 to pick up 823 points and move up to 22nd.

But the bigger news was in the men's 4x100 m heats, where the young Japanese team of Ryota Yamagata (Seiko), Shota Iizuka (Mizuno), Yoshihide Kiryu (Toyo Univ.) and Asuka Cambridge (Dome) lopped 0.35 seconds off the Japanese national record and 0.14 off China's minutes-old Asian record to win its heat in 37.68 over a Bolt-and Blake-less Jamaican squad.  With the U.S.A. and Canada also not running some of their A-listers Japan's time ranked it 2nd going into the final just 0.03 behind the U.S. team. Anticipation is high for Japan's first sprint relay O…
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Rio de Janeiro Olympics Athletics Day Six Japanese Results

by Brett Larner

Japanese athletes were thin on the ground on the sixth day of athletics at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.    Men's javelin national champion Ryohei Arai (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) threw 84.16 m on his first qualifying round throw to make the final, the Japanese performance of the day, short and sweet.  His Suzuki teammates Akihiko Nakamura and Keisuke Ushiro ended the first day of the decathlon ranked near the bottom of the field, Nakamura 24th with 3899 points and Ushiro 25th with 3886.

On the track in the men's 5000 m heats, 10000 m national record holder Kota Murayama (Team Asahi Kasei) echoed his run in the 10000 m final.  Ranked 17th of 25 in Heat One, Murayama ran up front early with Richard Ringer (Germany) before fading to 22nd in 14:26.72.  5000 m national record holder Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project) was ranked 8th of 26 on PB in Heat Two, giving him a chance of becoming only the second Japanese man post-war to make an Olympic 5000 m final. Osako has lost…
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Beijing World Championships Day Eight - Japanese Results

Beijing, China, 8/29/15
click here for complete results

Men's 50 km Race Walk
1. Matej Toth (Slovakia) - 3:40:32
2. Jared Tallent (Australia) - 3:42.17
3. Takayuki Tanii (Japan) - 3:42:55
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4. Hirooki Arai (Japan) - 3:43:44
34. Yuki Yamazaki (Japan) - 4:03:54

Masters Women 400 m
1. Sarah Louise Read Cayton (Great Britain) - 1:00.05
2. Virginia Corinne Mitchell (Great Britain) - 1:00.81
3. Elizabeth Gail Wilson (New Zealand) - 1:02.54
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7. Yukiko Usui (Japan) - 1:05.34

Men's 4x100 m Relay Heat 1
1. U.S.A. - 37.91 - Q
2. Great Britain - 38.20 - Q
3. Germany - 38.57 - Q
4. Japan - 38.60

Women's 4x400 m Relay Heat 2
1. U.S.A. - 3:23.05 - Q
2. Great Britain - 3:23.90 - Q
3. France - 3:24.86 - Q
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7. Japan - 3:28.91 - NR

Men's 4x400 m Relay Heat 1
1. Great Britain - 2:59.05 - Q
2. Belgium - 2:59.28 - Q
3. France - 2:59.42 - Q
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7. Japan - 3:02.97

Men's Decathlon
1. Ashton Eaton (U.S.A.) - 9045 - WR
2. Damian Warner (Canada) - 8695 - NR
3. Rico Freimuth (Germany…
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Beijing World Championships Day Seven - Japanese Results

Beijing, China, 8/28/15
click here for complete results

Women's 20 km Race Walk
1. Hong Liu (China) - 1:27:45
2. Xiuzhi Lu (China) - 1:27:45
3. Lyudmyla Olyanovska (Ukraine) - 1:28:13
4. Ana Cabecinha (Portugal) - 1:29:29
5. Antonella Palmisano (Italy) - 1:29:34
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25. Kumiko Okada (Japan) - 1:34:56

Men's High Jump Qualification Group A
1. Derek Drouin (Canada) - 2.31 m - Q
2. Mutaz Essa Barshim (Qatar) - 2.31 m - Q
3. Brandon Starc (Australia) - 2.13 m - PB - Q
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15. Naoto Tobe (Japan) - 2.26 m
16. Takashi Eto (Japan) - 2.22 m

Men's High Jump Qualification Group B
1. Guowei Zhang (China) - 2.31 m - Q
2. Bohdan Bondarenko (Ukraine) - 2.31 m - Q
3. Dimitrios Chondrokoukis (Cyprus) - 2.31 m - Q
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16. Yuji Hiramatsu (Japan) - 2.17 m

Women's Javelin Throw Qualification Group A
1. Britney Borman (U.S.A.) - 64.22 m - Q
2. Christina Obergfull (Germany) - 64.10 m - Q
3. Sunette Vilioen (South Africa) - 63.93 m - Q
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9. Yuki Ebihara (Japan) - 60.30 m - Q

Men's Deca…
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Japan Announces Full Team for Beijing World Championships

by Brett Larner

On Aug. 4 the JAAF released the full Japanese team for the 2015 Beijing World Championships later this month.  Men's 20 km racewalk world record holder Yusuke Suzuki (Team Fujitsu) leads the team along with national record holders Chisato Fukushima (Hokkaido Hi-Tec AC, women's 100 m and 200 m), Anna Doi (Daito Bunka Univ., women's 100 m Jr. NR), Asami Chiba (Toho Ginko, women's 400 m), Suguru Osako (Nike Oregon Project, men's 5000 m), Yuki Yamazaki (SDF Academy, men's 50 km racewalk), Yuki Ebihara (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC, women's javelin throw) and Keisuke Ushiro (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC, men's decathlon) plus 2015 World Youth Games record-setting double 100 m and 200 m gold medalist Abdul Hakim Sani Brown (Josai Prep H.S.), at 16 the youngest-ever member of a Japanese World Championships team.  Full team roster:

Sprints and Relays
Men's 100 m, 200 m and 4x100 m Relay
Kei Takase (Team Fujitsu) - 10.09 -0.1 m/s / 20.14 +1.0 m/s
Kenji Fujimits…
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Summary of Japanese Medalists at 2014 Incheon Asian Games

by Brett Larner

Japan picked up 3 gold medals, 12 silver and 7 bronze at the 2014 Asian Games, far short of the Federation's target of ten golds but for many of the silvers agonizing close to having crossed over to the top.  Chisato Fukushima by 0.01 seconds in the women's 100 m, Kohei Matsumura 1 second away in the men's marathon, Suguru Osako 0.74 out of gold in the men's 10000 m after leading until the final straight, Takayuki Kishimoto out by 0.10 in the men's 400 mH and pole vaulter Daichi Sawano clearing the same height, 5.55 m, as gold medalist Changrui Xue (China).  If things had gone just slightly differently the gold haul could have been very close to target.

The three gold medals Japan did win all came from the men on the team.  Takayuki Tanii's was the biggest, a meet record 3:40:19 in the 50 km racewalk, along with favorite Keisuke Ushiro's 8088 win in the decathlon and the 4x400 m relay team's 3:01.88 gold less than 0.20 off Japan's ow…
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World Leads and a Strong Run from Kiryu at Oda Memorial, Plus a National Record

by Brett Larner
videos by okukon

With the Tuesday national holiday making it something of a perforated long weekend it was a busy one on the Japanese track circuit with a national record and a handful of world-leading performances.

Decathlon national record holder Keisuke Ushiro (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) topped the list with a new national record at the decathlon National Championships on the 26th and 27th in Wakayama.  On track to break his old record by more than 100 points at the end of the first day, Ushiro continued strong the second day.  With a solid 1500 m announcers predicted 8300 could be in range, but with just a 4:45:53 Ushiro came in with a breakable new record of 8143 that put him 4th in the world so far this season and left him the potential for more.



Shortly after Ushiro's record, relative unknown Bernard Kimani (Kenya/Team Yakult) brought the first world-leading mark of the weekend with a 13:18.92 to win the Nittai University Time Trials 5000 m A-heat, a quick heat tha…
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Moscow World Championships - Day Two Japanese Results

by Brett Larner

National champion Hitomi Niiya (Team Universal Entertainment) ran exactly the race prefigured by her win at June's National Championships and in last year's London Olympics, going out right behind early rabbit Shalane Flanagan (U.S.A.) in the Moscow World Championships 10000 m, taking the lead after 3000 m and setting the pace all the way to the last lap before finishing 5th in a PB 30:56.70.  In a tearful post-race interview she said, "There's no reason to be at Worlds if you can't medal," but her fearlessness in setting her own pace and her improvement of her standing as all-time third-fastest Japanese for the second time at a major international championships did credit to both her and her coach Yoshio Koide.  Kyushu-based Sally Chepyego (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) also turned in a PB performance, taking 7th in 31:22.11.

In other events, 400 m national champion Yuzo Kanemaru (Team Otsuka Seiyaku) finished last in his qualifying heat but still sli…
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Moscow World Championships - Day One Japanese Results

by Brett Larner

With the highlight of the first day of competition at the 2013 World Championships from the Japanese perspective having been Kayoko Fukushi's bronze medal in the women's marathon, five other events also saw Japanese athletes in the ranks.  In the men's 10000 m, all-time Japanese #5 Tsuyoshi Ugachi (Team Konica Minolta) brought a season best 27:50.79 to take 15th, with #1-ranked collegiate Suguru Osako (Waseda Univ.) faltering in the late going and dropping to 21st in 28:19.50.  #3 Yuki Sato (Team Nissin Shokuhin) was a surprise DNF after falling off the pace early.  Japanese-trained Africans took three of the top six places including two medals, with former Honda athlete Ibrahim Jeilan (Ethiopia) missing a defense of his world title half a second behind rival Mohamed Farah (GBR) in 27:22.23 and Kyudenko runner Paul Tanui (Kenya/Team Kyudenko) a step behind for bronze in 27:22.61.  Tokyo-based Bedan Karoki (Kenya/DeNA RC) took 6th in 27:27.17 after working w…
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London Olympics Athletics Day Seven - Japanese Results

London, England, 8/9/12
click here for complete results

Men's Decathlon Final Standings
1. Ashton Eaton (U.S.A.) - 8869
2. Trey Hardee (U.S.A.) - 8671
3. Leonel Suarez (Cuba) - 8523
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20. Keisuke Ushiro (Japan) - 7842

Men's 4x400 m Relay Heat Two
1. Bahamas - 2:58.87 - Q
2. U.S.A. - 2:58.87 - Q
3. Russia - 3:02.01 - Q
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6. Japan (Takase/Kanemaru/Azuma/Nakano) - 3:03.86

Women's 4x100 m Relay Heat One
1. U.S.A. - 41.64 - Q
2. Trinidad & Tobago - 42.31 - Q
3. Netherlands - 42.45 - Q
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8. Japan (Doi/Ichikawa/Fukushima/Sano) - 44.25

(c) 2012 Brett Larner
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London Olympics Athletics Day Six - Japanese Results

London, England, 8/8/12
click here for complete results

Men's 5000 m Heat One
1. Hayle Ibrahimov (Azerbaijan) - 13:25.23 - Q
2. Isiah Kiplangat Koech (Kenya) - 13:25.64 - Q
3. Mohamed Farah (U.K.) - 13:26.00 - Q
4. Lopez Lomong (U.S.A.) - 13:26.16 - Q
5. Hagos Gebrehiwet (Ethiopia) - 13:26.16 - Q
6. Edwin Cheruiyot Soi (Kenya) - 13:27.06
7. Arne Gabius (Germany) - 13:28.01
8. Daniele Meucci (Italy) - 13:28.71
9. Moukheld Al-Outaibi (Saudi Arabia) - 13:31.47
10. Bilisuma Shugi (Bahrain) - 13:31.84
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12. Yuki Sato (Japan) - 13:38.22

Men's 200 m Semi-Final One
1. Yohan Blake (Jamaica) - 20.01 - Q
2. Wallace Spearmon (U.S.A.) - 20.02 - Q
3. Christophe Lemaitre (France) - 20.03 - q
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8. Kei Takase (Japan) - 20.70

Men's 200 m Semi-Final Three
1. Churandy Martina (Netherlands) - 20.17 - Q
2. Warren Weir (Jamaica) - 20.28 - Q
3. Christian Malcom (U.K.) - 20.51
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6. Shinji Takahira (Japan) - 20.77

Men's Javelin Throw Qualification Round Group A
1. Andreas Thorkildsen (No…
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Japanese Olympic Team Profiles - Jumps and Throws

by Brett Larner

Japan's field contingent at the London Olympics is small, but every member is a world-level medalist, national record holder or national collegiate record holder.  Most eyes will be upon 2011 Daegu World Championships and 2004 Athens Olympics men's hammer throw gold medalist Koji Murofushi (Mizuno), who has previously indicated the intent to retire following London.  Murofushi was on top of his game in Daegu, but this spring he was lying low, taking his record 18th-straight national title with a throw of only 72.85 m.  Such a minimal-effort performance raised concerns about his fitness, but Murofushi typically brings his best to the major championships and, if fit, should move up far in the standings from his low-level seeded position.

If any other Japanese athletes are likely to figure into the top of the competition it will be in the men's javelin throw, where 2009 Berlin World Championships bronze medalist Yukifumi Murakami (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) and his …
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