japan running news

There's already been a lot going on on the track since the start of July, so let's get to it. The women's 100 mH was the main event at the July 5 Fuse Sprint meet in Tottori, with Hitomi Nakajima turning in the 3rd-fastest time of her career, 12.75 (-0.4), for the win, a time only one other Japanese woman has ever beaten. Yumi Tanaka and Masumi Aoki both turned in quality performances too at 12.89 and 12.97 for 2nd and 3rd. All-time Japanese #4 Midori Mikase had a good one in the women's 100 m too, winning in 11.36 (+0.7). The Hokuren Distance Challenge series kicked off July 4 in Chitose . Tuning up for her 1500-5000-10000 triple at September's Nagoya Asian Games, Nozomi Tanaka won the 1500 m in 4:08.53, then came back to win the 5000 m in a 15:00.61 season best. Bigger news was 3000 mSC NR holder Miu Saito in 2nd, running a PB 15:02.68 to come in at all-time Japanese #8. Collegiate record holder Richard Etir led the men's 5000 m in a 13:08.44 SB, with ...

With Kana Kobayashi the top-placing Japanese woman in the Tokyo World Athletics Championships marathon yesterday at 7th, hopes were high that the men would come through with a medal in the event they care the most about. But alas. Yuya Yoshida was clearly nowhere near his Fukuoka CR-breaking form and was off the back of the lead pack by halfway, ultimately finishing 34th in 2:16:58. Paris Olympics marathon trials winner Naoki Koyama lasted longer but could still only manage a 2:13:42 for 23rd. The surprise was debut marathon NR holder Ryota Kondo , who ran 2:10:53 for 11th in only the second marathon of his career. It's back to the drawing board, but with the JAAF having revised the qualifying standards for the L.A. Olympics marathon trials to prioritize time even more over competitive performance ability, there's not much reason to be optimistic that Japanese marathoners are going to be relevant in championship races anytime in the foreseeable future. Anyway, Tanzanian Alp...

Day 3 of the Tokyo World Athletics Championships kicks off with what will probably be the most-viewed event on domestic TV. A quick look at Japanese athletes competing throughout the day: 7:30 - Men's Marathon Yuya Yoshida (GMO) - 2:05:16 -  1st, Fukuoka Int'l 2024 Ryota Kondo (Mitsubishi Juko) - 2:05:39 -  2nd, Osaka 2025 Naoki Koyama (Honda) - 2:06:33 -  3rd, Osaka 2024 Prognosis : If we had to pick one Japanese athlete we'd most like to see win a medal it's Yoshida, someone who's risen from benchwarmer in college to Fukuoka CR holder. He's been almost invisible this year so it's hard to know where he's at, but if his second half is anything like it was in Fukuoka then he's a contender. Kondo is a wildcard, with a 2:05:39 debut and narrow miss on the win in Osaka this year, but in snow and cold far removed from what Tokyo will be like Monday. Koyama seemed almost no-miss up through his PB in Osaka last year but has struggled since then and controv...

With less than 3 weeks to go until the Aug. 24 deadline to qualify for September's Tokyo World Championships let's take a look at what kind of team Japan might have. In terms of potential medalists there are 6 solid candidates, all the usual suspects. World and Olympic champion Haruka Kitaguchi leads the women's javelin throw. Ranked 5th, Nanako Fujii has an outside chance in the women's 20 km race walk. On the men's side, Ryuji Miura looks to be a contender in the 3000 mSC where he's ranked 3rd. Toshikazu Yamanishi and Satoshi Maruo are ranked 1-2 in the 20 km race walk, with Masatora Kawano at 3rd in the 35 km race walk. After that it's the always-strong men's 4x100 m, ranked 2nd, although the big question is who is going to be on the team. In the marathon, you want to feel like Fukuoka CR breaker Yuya Yoshida has a chance. The women's javelin, marathon and race walks look like the only events where Japan is likely to field full squads of 3...