japan running news

http://www.iaaf.org/IWC10/news/kind=100/newsid=56666.html

2010 Osaka International Grand Prix T&F Meet - Top Finishers
click here for complete results Women's 5000 m 1. Ann Karindi (Kenya/Team Toyota Jidoshoki) - 15:15.19 2. Eloise Wellings (Australia) - 15:16.87 3. Kayoko Fukushi (Team Wacoal) - 15:17.86 4. Doricah Obare (Kenya/Team Hitachi) - 15:26.07 5. Yuriko Kobayashi (Team Toyota Jidoshoki) - 15:31.72 6. Yuko Shimizu (Team Sekisui Kagaku) - 15:45.81 7. Noriko Matsuoka (Suzuki Hamamatsu AC) - 15:54.83
Men's 1500 m 1. Caleb Ndiku (Kenya/Team Nissin Shokuhin) - 3:39.53 2. James Kaan (Australia) - 3:40.80 3. Yuichiro Ueno (Team S&B) - 3:40.83 - PB 4. Yasunori Murakami (Team Fujitsu) - 3:42.74 5. Masahiro Takaya (Team JR Higashi Nihon) - 3:44.32 6. Yasuhiro Tago (Team Chugoku Denryoku) - 3:47.64 7. Fumikazu Kobayashi (Team NTN) - 3:51.33 8. Michael Githinji (Kenya/Aomori Yamada H.S.) - 3:55.78 9. Barnabas Bene (Hungary) - 4:16.04

NHK will broadcast the May 8 Osaka International Grand Prix Track & Field Meet live from 3:05 to 5:00 p.m. Japan time. The meet features a range of international talent alongside a large number of Japanese national champions, national record holders, and Olympic medalists. Click here for complete start lists. International viewers should be able to watch the meet online for free via Keyhole TV. Click here for more details. You'll have to scroll through the channels to find the correct one, which has its name listed all in kanji and requires a password. The password is NHK.

It appears that the broadcast will begin immediately after the men's 1500 m and end just before the women's 5000 m, unfortunately.

by Brett Larner

It's a big weekend in Japan with three major events across the country. The biggest is no doubt the Osaka Grand Prix Meet on May 8. Most events feature the standing Japanese national champion or national record holder along with international competition including Veronica Campbell-Brown (Jamaica, 100 m), Andrew Hinds (Barbados, 100 m), Monzavous Edwards (U.S.A., 200 m), Mounir Yemmouni (France, 1500 m), Doricah Obare (Kenya, 5000 m), Perdita Felicien (Canada, 100 mH), Bershawn Jackson (U.S.A., 400 mH), Christian Cantwell (U.S.A., SP), and Becky Breisch (U.S.A., DT). A complete entry list is available here. One notable withdrawal is the meet's biggest star, Chinese hurdler Xiang Liu.

Also on May 8 is the first of the regional spring corporate track meets, the Central Japan Corporate Track and Field Championships. This weekend's events include the men's and women's 5000 m, with the 10000 m scheduled for next weekend. Atsushi Sato (Team Chugoku Denryoku…

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.

http://www.iaaf.org/GP09/news/kind=100/newsid=50474.html

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 …

http://headlines.yahoo.co.jp/hl?a=20080510-00000942-san-spo

translated by Brett Larner

Officials at the Osaka Grand Prix misdirected competitors in the men`s 1600 m relay. The American and Portuguese teams were already on their 2nd leg when it was discovered that they had been directed to a handoff zone 10 m past the actual zone. Japan`s 2nd leg runner Takumi Kanemaru (Hosei University) was not directed to this incorrect starting zone but followed the other two countries` runners while on standby. Consequently, 1st stage runner Mitsuhiro Abiko (Tsukuba University) was forced to run 410 m.

The error is an unwelcome reminder of last year`s Osaka World Championships, where officials in the men`s 50 km racewalk misdirected Yuki Yamazaki (Team Hasegawa). Kanemaru analyzed the incident by saying, "It meant less work for me," but Junji Karube, the head of Japan Rikuren`s short distance division, was more serious. "The runners themselves may have been partly responsible, but …

by Brett Larner

An early-season typhoon brought cold, windy, rainy conditions to this year`s Osaka Grand Prix meet, causing weak results among competitors in all events.

In the most anticipated event of the meet, women`s 1500 m national record holder Yuriko Kobayashi easily defeated her rivals to win but missed her goal of an Olympic qualifying time. Kobayashi started well, leading the chase back a few meters behind leaders Sonja Roman of Slovakia and Lisa Corrigan of Australia. The two leaders hit 400 m in 64', with Kobayashi tying her national record split of 65' for the first lap. She spent the 2nd lap bridging the gap to the leaders, still on national record pace at 800 m with a 69' second lap.

In the 3rd lap Kobayashi made a move to take the lead but abruptly pulled back into the 1st lane to sit behind Roman and Corrigan, missing her chance to go after her goal time. The three runners hit 1100 m in 3:06, making even an Olympic B-standard 4:08 highly unlikely, then c…