by Brett Larner
Despite several close calls, Japan went empty-handed for the first three days of the 2013 IAAF World Youth Championships in Donetsk, Ukraine. Not until the July 13 race walks did its fortunes turn around. In the women's 5000 m race walk, far behind Russian winner Olga Shargina's world-leading 22:13.91, Momoko Mizota narrowly held off Noemi Stella (Italy) for silver in a PB 22:42.77.
Less than an hour later, Toshikazu Yamanishi turned in Japan's only gold medal of the championships with a PB 41:53.80 in the men's 10000 m race walk, ten seconds ahead of silver medalist Maksim Krasnov (Russia) and bronze medalist Diego Garcia (Spain). Just behind in 4th, Yuga Yamashita clocked a PB 42:07.94 but could not match Krasnov and Garcia on the final lap.
On the final day of competition, both the women's and men's medley relay teams picked up bronze, the women behind the U.S.A. and, by a step, British Virgin Islands, and the men behind Jamaica and the U…
Despite several close calls, Japan went empty-handed for the first three days of the 2013 IAAF World Youth Championships in Donetsk, Ukraine. Not until the July 13 race walks did its fortunes turn around. In the women's 5000 m race walk, far behind Russian winner Olga Shargina's world-leading 22:13.91, Momoko Mizota narrowly held off Noemi Stella (Italy) for silver in a PB 22:42.77.
Less than an hour later, Toshikazu Yamanishi turned in Japan's only gold medal of the championships with a PB 41:53.80 in the men's 10000 m race walk, ten seconds ahead of silver medalist Maksim Krasnov (Russia) and bronze medalist Diego Garcia (Spain). Just behind in 4th, Yuga Yamashita clocked a PB 42:07.94 but could not match Krasnov and Garcia on the final lap.
On the final day of competition, both the women's and men's medley relay teams picked up bronze, the women behind the U.S.A. and, by a step, British Virgin Islands, and the men behind Jamaica and the U…