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Showing posts with the label Nobuharu Asahara

'Five Nations Emerge With Victories as IAAF World Relays Yokohama Conclude'

https://www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-relays/news/iaaf-world-relays-yokohama-2019-day-2
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Japan's Beijing Olympics Men's 4x100 m Relay Team Officially Elevated to Silver After 10 Years

On Dec. 11 the Japan Olympic Committee announced that Japan's 2008 Beijing Olympics men's 4x100 m relay team has been officially elevated from the bronze medal position to silver. The leading runner for former gold medalists Jamaica, Nesta Carter, tested positive for prohibited substances in an antidoping test, leading to the IOC stripping the Jamaican team of its medals. Carter appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport but lost the appeal in June this year. The International Olympic Committee released a statement on the official change in status on Dec. 7. A medal ceremony will be held for the four team members at a later date.

The Japanese national team ran 38.15 at the Beijing Olympics. Its four members in running order were Naoki Tsukahara, Shingo Suetsugu, Shinji Takahira and Nobuharu Asahara. Their bronze medal was only the second Japanese Olympic medal on the track in history, the first coming 80 years earlier at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics where Kinu…
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Kiryu Breaks Asian Junior Indoor 60 m Record Twice in 75 Minutes

by Brett Larner



Teen sprint sensation Yoshihide Kiryu (Rakunan H.S.) broke the Asian Junior Indoor 60 m record twice on day two of the National Indoor Track and Field Meet Feb. 9 in Osaka. Kiryu opened with a 6.63 in Heat Two to break the existing record, then returned an hour and fourteen minutes later to do it again with a 6.59 in the final.  The 6.59 moved him to all-time #2 in the Japanese record books behind Beijing Olympics 4x100 m bronze medalist Nobuharu Asahara.  The meet was one of Kiryu's last before graduating next month.  In April he will enter Saitama's Toyo University, home of the 2014 Hakone Ekiden champion team and London Olympics 20 km race walker Takumi Saito.

(c) 2014 Brett Larner
all rights reserved
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Fukushima Breaks Own 100 m National Record at Oda Memorial Meet

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/p-sp-tp0-20100430-624039.html

translated by Brett Larner

At the 44th Oda Memorial Track and Field Meet at Hiroshima's Big Arch Stadium on Apr. 29, sprinter Chisato Fukushima (21, Hokkaido Hi-Tec AC) broke her own national record by 0.03 seconds, running 11.21 for her third-straight record. With a strong spring ahead of her, Fukushima's sights are set on breaking the record again and becoming the first Japanese woman to break 11. "Today was only about 70 or 80%," she said after the race. "I'm getting closer to a 10 one step at a time."

It was a convincing victory. After finishing 1st in her heat Fukushima immediately opened a 5 m lead on rival Momoko Takahashi (Heisei Kokusai Univ.) in the final and held that margin all the way to the end. When the electric display showed her time the 12000 people in attendance erupted into cheers and applause. "I was surprised too," Fukushima laughed. "That was …
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‘07 World Champs Wariner, Clement and Thomas Win Again in Osaka'

http://www.iaaf.org/GP09/news/kind=100/newsid=50494.html

Click here for a direct link to complete results.

One point not mentioned in the IAAF article is the strong showing by Japan's men's 4 x 100 m team. Running with only two members of its bronze medal-winning team from the Beijing Olympics, Naoki Tsukahara (Team Fujitsu) and Shinji Takahira (Team Fujitsu), the team won in 38.33, 0.3 seconds off the national record and a time which would have been 5th in the final in Beijing. The team's now-retired anchor from Beijing, Nobuharu Asahara, was one of the television announcers for the Osaka Grand Prix and was surprised and delighted at such an early-season showing. He said that with several months of work ahead on ironing out its exchanges he is confident the team will be a factor in Berlin.
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Japanese Men's 4 x 100 m Team Renewing Lineup

http://www.nikkansports.com/sports/news/p-sp-tp0-20090424-486487.html

translated by Brett Larner

Japan's bronze medal-winning men's 4 x 100 m relay team from the Beijing Olympics is in the process of changing both its lineup and running order Rikuren has announced following a committee meeting at Tokyo's National Training Center in Ota Ward. Longtime anchor Nobuharu Asahara retired last fall, and second leg runner Shingo Suetsugu is taking the season off, necessitating the changes in the leadup to this summer's World Championships in Berlin. Sprint Division director Shunji Karube commented, "We're aiming to make the final at the World Championships, but there is much to do before then. With half our regular team gone we're in a tough position. We haven't made any decisions about the team's lineup or running order yet but will watch this spring's Grand Prix series and see who's who." The new team is expected to be announced following the …
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Takahashi, Seko and Asahara Join Welcoming Committee for IOC Task Force

http://sports.nikkei.co.jp/index.aspx?n=SSXKD0679%2015042009

translated by Brett Larner

The International Olympic Committee's task force charged with evaluating Tokyo's bid for the 2016 summer Olympic Games will tour the proposed marathon course on Apr. 17 as part of its four-day examination of the city. On Apr. 15 it was announced that Sydney Olympics women's marathon gold medalist Naoko Takahashi will be part of the delegation greeting IOC members at the marathon course's starting point, the 1964 Olympic Games' National Stadium. Takahashi, Japan's first Olympic women's [sic] marathon gold medalist, will join Toshihiko Seko, the architect of an era of Japanese men's marathoning, in greeting IOC task force head and first African women's Olympic gold medalist Nawal El Moutawakel. Together the two greatest assets of Japanese marathoning will help to illustrate the strong appeal of Tokyo's Olympic bid. The proposed marathon course will travel fro…
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2008 As Seen By JRN Readers

JRN's most-read articles of 2008 by month:

January
First-time winner Mara Yamauchi takes Osaka in 2:25:10 PB, Kayoko Fukushi 19th in debut. - Jan. 27

February
Last run for Team Toshiba LSI: the Betsudai Marathon.- Feb. 2
Tokyo Marathon 2007 through foreign runners' eyes.- Feb. 4
Arata Fujiwara: an unknown contender for Beijing.- Feb. 19

March
Koide presecient: Yurika Nakamura wins Nagoya in 2:25:51 debut.- Mar. 9

April
30 hospitalized after honeybee attack at Saga Sakura Half-Marathon.- Apr. 8

May
Mekubo Mogusu sets Olympic A-standard 10000 m meet record at Kanto University track and field championships.- May 20

June
Sapporo International Half-Marathon preview.- June 11

July
Chisato Fukushima selected as first women's 100 m Olympian in 56 years.- July 6

August
Mizuki Noguchi considering dropping out of Olympics after hospitalization for fatigue.- Aug. 9
Chunxiu Zhou's Japanese coach Shinya Takeuchi seeks to make personal compensation to China for WWII.- Aug. 14
A 'good enough' men…
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Japanese Distance Running in 2008

by Brett Larner

With 2008 at an end JRN takes a look back at some of its the highs and lows.

January
The new year began with Samuel Wanjiru's final major ekiden appearance in the aptly-named New Year Ekiden, but he passed almost unnoticed behind a legion of Kenyan stars shoehorned into one of the shortest legs of the Japanese professional men's ekiden championships. Rikuren officials justified this trend in the major ekidens by saying that Japanese fans don't like seeing foreign runners dominating home-grown athletes and that Africans are just physically superior, then later in the year attacked Japanese marathoners for their inability to keep up with exceptional performances by Africans in the Olympics and at the Fukuoka International Marathon. Wanjiru was 4th on the 11.8 km 3rd stage in 31:17, with Team Nissin Shokuhin's Masai Kenyan Gideon Ngatuny winning the stage in 30:59.

Team Konica Minolta returned to the winner's circle thanks in large part to a half marathon…
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Nobuharu Asahara Bows Out to Full House at Super Meet in Kawasaki

by Brett Larner
event videos listed at bottom

The 36 year old anchor of Japan's Beijing Olympics bronze medal-winning men's 4 x 100 m relay team, Nobuharu Asahara (Team Osaka Gas), was the main attraction at the 2008 Seiko Super Track and Field Meet in Kawasaki, a near sellout crowd filling Kawasaki's Todoroki Stadium to witness Asahara's final run before his retirement. Despite the cancellation of several stars including men's 110 m hurdles world record holder Dayron Robles, Japanese fans were treated to a bonus in the unpublicized surprise guest appearance by Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt, who came out to greet fans during the opening ceremonies.

Usain Bolt and the Japanese Olympic men's 4 x 100 m team.

In the field events, women's long jump national record holder Kumiko Ikeda (Team Suzuki) fouled on her first three jumps before finally getting on the scoreboard. She ultimately finished 2nd behind Russian Tatiana Lebedeva, a two-time Olympic medalist and de…
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Asahara Ready for Final Race

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20080922-00000031-jijp-spo.view-000

translated and edited by Brett Larner

Japan's Olympic bronze medal-winning 4 x 100 m team reunited at the Seiko Super Track and Field Meet in Kawasaki pre-meet press conference on Sept. 22. The four athletes, all of whom will compete in the meet, struck a group baton pass pose for photographers. From left to right are Nobuharu Asahara (Team Osaka Gas), Shinji Takahira (Team Fujitsu), Shingo Suetsugu (Team Mizuno) and Naoki Tsukahara (Team Fujitsu). The meet will be the 36 year-old Asahara's final race before his retirement.
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Olympic 4x100m Relay Anchor Asahara Tells Company Supporters "The Baton's Whereabouts Are Unknown. Somebody Please Find It."

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20080901-00000966-san-spo

translated by Brett Larner

Beijing Olympics men's 4 x 100 m relay bronze medal winner Nobuharu Asahara (36, Team Osaka Gas) appeared at a press conference at Osaka Gas' head office on Sept. 1, joyfully telling reporters, "It was 10 seconds of the purest satisfaction in my life, my greatest Olympics."*

After watching the race again on a large screen at the press conference, Asahara spoke to the packed crowd of over 500 Osaka Gas employees and journalists. Asked about the widely-televised scene of Asahara throwing the team's baton into the air in joy the moment the results appeared and Japan's bronze medal was secured, he laughingly appealed to the public, saying "[Japan's gold-medal] softball team's winning ball came back with them, but the baton's whereabouts are unknown. If somebody finds it please get in touch."

*Translator's note: Asahara is a four-time Olympian.
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Japanese Olympic Track Results - Aug. 22

by Brett Larner

Men's 4 x 400 m Relay - Heats
After Japan's ace runner Yuzo Kanemaru pulled out of the men's 4 x 400 m heats just 30 minutes before the race, veteran 400 m hurdler Dai Tamesue was brought in as a replacement to the mostly young, inexperienced team. Mitsuhiro Abiko handed off to Tamesue in last place, and Tamesue was unable to make up any ground on the rest of the field. Yoshihiro Horigome almost caught 7th place, but it was up to anchor Kenji Narisako, also a hurdler, to move Japan into its final position of 6th, catching Greece and the Dominican Republic in the home stretch. Japan finished in a season best 3:04.18 but failed to advance to the final.

Men's 4 x 100 m Relay - Final
Japan's team of Naoki Tsukahara, Shingo Suetsugu, Shinji Takahira and Nobuharu Asahara ran a season best 38.15 to finish 3rd, winning Japan's first-ever men's medal in an Olympic track race and the country's first Olympic track medal in 80 years. Click here for a mo…
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Japan Scores First Track Medal in 80 Years With Men's 4 x 100 Bronze (updated)

by Brett Larner

After finishing 4th in the 2004 Athens Olympics and 5th at the 2007 Osaka World Track and Field Championships, the Japanese men's 4 x 100 m relay team scored Japan's first Olympic medal in a track event since the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, running a season best 38.15 to take bronze behind gold medalist Jamaica's world record 37.10 and silver medalist Trinidad and Tobago's 38.06.

Of the four members of the team, only first-leg runner Naoki Tsukahara, the 2008 100 m national champion, had run well in individual competition in Beijing, making the semi-final of the men's 100 m. Tsukahara was again solid, delivering a strong start against Jamaica's Nesta Carta. A flawless handoff to 200 m national record holder and three-time Olympian Shingo Suetsugu on the second leg maintained Japan's position. Suetsugu performed another impeccable handoff to 2008 200 m national champion Shinji Takahira; while inevitably losing ground to Jamaica's Usain Bolt Ta…
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Japanese Olympic Track Results - Aug. 21

by Brett Larner

Men's 4 x 100 m Relay - Heats
Japan's 4 x 100 m relay team of Naoki Tsukahara, Shingo Suetsugu, Shinji Takahira and Nobuhara Asahara survived a wild heat which saw four of the eight competing teams drop the baton to finish 2nd in a season-best 38.52. This was the third-fastest time among the teams which made the final, giving Japan a legitimate chance for its first track and field medal of the Beijing Olympics.

The same Japanese team set the Asian record of 38.03 in finishing 5th at last summer's World Track and Field Championships in Osaka. Of the teams which beat Japan at the World Championships, only Jamaica finished ahead of Japan in the Olympic heats, winning its heat in 38.31, with the teams from the U.K. and U.S.A. eliminated after dropping their batons. Japan finished well ahead of the Brazilian team which had placed 4th at the World Championships. Trinidad and Tobago, which did not make the World Championships final, won the heat against Japan in the …
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Japanese Olympic Track Results - Aug. 15

by Brett Larner

Women's 10000 m
Yukiko Akaba went out according to expectation despite having come down with a fever, running in the top four until this historic race's fast pace swallowed her whole. She soon fell back and ran most of the race together with national record holder Yoko Shibui, who was surprisingly passive and never made a move to stay with the lead pack. Japan's third woman, 3000 m, 5000 m and half marathon national record holder Kayoko Fukushi, ran at the back of the lead pack, passing 5000 m in approximately 15:09, far faster than her 3rd place finish time in the 5000 m at June's National Track and Field Championships. She began to struggle between 5000 and 6000 m, but until 9000 m it looked likely that Shibui's national record of 30:48.89 would be in danger. Fukushi was in the end unable to hang on, jogging the home stretch and finishing 11th in a disappointing 31:01.14. Shibui was 17th in 31:31.13, while Akaba finished 20th in 32:00.37.

Women's…
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Liu, Asahara, Kobayashi and More on the Schedule for Osaka Grand Prix

by Brett Larner

An international field including famed Chinese 110 m hurdler Xian Liu, Helsinki World Championships 400 m hurdler silver medalist James Carter of U.S.A., Paris and Edmonton World Championships 100 m bronze medalist Chandra Stirrup of Bahamas, and Helsinki World Championships 400 m bronze medalist Christine Amertil, also of Bahamas, will take part in the IAAF Japan Grand Prix in Osaka this Saturday, May 10.

Hosts Japan will field a team including star sprinter Nobuharu Asahara, top hurdler Dai Tamesue, women`s 1500 m national record holder Yuriko Kobayashi, and women`s long jump national record holder Kumiko Ikeda. Athens Olympics discus gold medalist Koji Murofuji will be appearing as an honorary participant.

Of particular interest to distance running enthusiasts will be the appearance in the men`s 1500 m of former Hakone Ekiden stars Yuichiro Ueno, formerly of Chuo University and now running for Team SB Shokuhin, and Yuki Matsuoka, formerly with 2007 Hakone winners Junte…
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