japan running news

The JAAF has announced that Moroccan  El Mahjoub Dazza  has been stripped of his victory at the 73rd Fukuoka International Marathon on Dec. 1, 2019. A short time later Dazza was found to have violated anti-doping regulations , and the Athletics Integrity Unit suspended him for four years. Following a rejection of his appeal by the Court of Arbitration for Sport last week, all of Dazza's results after May 4, 2019, including his Fukuoka win, were disqualified. For that reason, all athletes who finished 2nd and lower in the race will be elevated one position, making runner-up Taku Fujimoto  (Toyota) the winner and giving the Toyota corporate team and head coach Toshinobu Sato two-straight Fukuoka victories, following teammate  Yuma Hattori 's 2018 win. The Fukuoka International Marathon is known worldwide as one of the most prestigious traditional races and last year was selected as the recipient of World Athletics' Heritage Plaque. Nevertheless, in March this ...

One year before the Tokyo Olympics women's marathon, men's team member Yuma Hattori (26, Toyota) did a test run on the Olympic course in Sapporo. Hattori began at the Olympic marathon course's start point in Odori Park at 7:00 a.m., the same time the main event will kick off, looking focused, serious and silent. He seemed to concentrate on visualizing the event a year distant. After the run, in a telephone interview Hattori's coach Toshinobu Sato commented, "There are a lot of corners and a lot of tight, narrow spots. We'll have to take care about getting tripped up and falling, especially if it's a slow first half." Partway through the run Hattori's hat was blown off by strong winds caused by a cool low pressure system. "The weather is irregular," said Sato of the conditions in Sapporo. "If it's over 20˚C it'll be in the hot weather marathon category. It's not just the ordinary heat of midsummer. It's somethi...

On July 31 the Athletics Integrity Unit announced a four-year suspension for 2019 Fukuoka International Marathon winner El Mahjoub Dazza of Morocco. Dazza was busted on biological passport findings that indicated unrealistic hemoglobin values, the AIU rejecting his explanation of changes in intensity of altitude training as "highly improbable." Dazza will lose all results from May 4, 2019 to Jan. 10, 2020, with a four-year suspension to follow. Pending any appeals,  this means he will lose his 2019 Prague Marathon and 2019 Fukuoka International Marathon titles, in the latter case elevating runner-up Taku Fujimoto (Toyota) to winner. The correction of results will mean two straight Fukuoka titles for Toyota head coach Toshinobu Sato , whose star runner Yuma Hattori won Fukuoka in 2018, but Fujimoto will never get the same public recognition Hattori earned for his win. © 2020 Brett Larner, all rights reserved

On July 16 Tokyo Olympics marathoner Yuma Hattori (Toyota) talked to media in Abashiri, Hokkaido about his plans for the remaining year before the Olympic Games. "I have a lot of room to develop," he said. "I want to improve both my ability and my competitiveness." Setting himself a high bar to clear before the main event, he said, "I want to do a marathon where I go for breaking 2:05:30." On the 15th Hattori ran a 10000 m PB of 27:56.32 at the Hokuren Distance Challenge meet in Abashiri. "After the race I was relieved that I did it, but if I'm satisfied with a time like this then I'll never medal," he said. His coach Toshinobu Sato indicated that in early August Hattori will do a test run on the Olympic marathon course in Sapporo. In the fall he will do another 10000 m, then a marathon, likely either the Fukuoka International Marathon or Tokyo Marathon. source article: https://www.sanspo.com/sports/news/20200716/ath2007161447000...

The IOC held an executive board meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland on Dec. 4. With regard to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics marathons and race walks, which the IOC decreed last month must be moved to north as an effort to combat expected high temperatures, the IOC's executive board turned down a plan from the Tokyo organizing committee for the marathon to be held on a two-lap course through the Sapporo city center. The board did accept an out-and-back race walk course along the major street in front of Sapporo Station. The schedule for the marathons was settled, with the women's marathon to be held Aug. 8 and the men's on Aug. 9. A start and finish point at Odori Park and a first lap consisting of 20 km were also finalized, but an agreement on the rest of the marathon course could not be reached. Tadashi Fukushima , head coach of the Fujitsu corporate team whose runner Shogo Nakamura won September's MGC Race Olympic marathon trials, called for a decision to be made as quick...

The last two qualifying races for the 64th New Year Ekiden corporate men's national championships on Jan.1 took place Nov. 17. At the 62nd Kansai Corporate Ekiden in Wakayama, 14 teams competed for the 4 spots available at the New Year Ekiden. The SGH Group team covered the 7-stage, 80.45 km course in 3:57:43 to claim its first win in 2 years. Sumitomo Denko was 2nd just 13 seconds back from SGH Group, with Osaka Gas taking 3rd in a team record performance. Last year's winner NTT Nishi Nihon placed 4th to round out the list of qualifiers. At the Chubu / Hokuriku Corporate Ekiden , local powerhouse Toyota ran 3:55:38 for the 7-stage, 80.5 km course to win the Chubu region division for the sixth year in a row. On the Fourth Stage Toyota dropped back from leader Toyota Boshoku , but after getting back on track with quality runs from captain Minato Oishi on the Fifth Stage and 2020 Olympic marathon team member Yuma Hattori on the anchor stage the team succeeded in ope...

http://www.tokyo-np.co.jp/article/event/tokyomarathon/list/CK2014022002000195.html translated and edited by Brett Larner Running from City Hall to Tokyo Big Sight, the Tokyo Marathon takes place on Feb. 23.  A part of the world's ultimate series, the World Marathon Majors, and the biggest marathon in Asia, Tokyo attracts the best from around the world.  Highly anticipated to be the "golden boy" of the buildup to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, 22-year-old Chihiro Miyawaki  (Team Toyota), already all-time Japanese #4 for the half marathon and #7 for 10000 m, will make his marathon debut in Tokyo.  Having gone straight into the jitsugyodan corporate team world after graduating from high school without passing through the Hakone Ekiden he is something of a secret weapon, but on the streets of the Japanese capital he is now ready to throw off the veil. Miyawaki's gentle, meek smile conceals the tenacity of an underdog's soul.  He is a runner with a modern, m...

by Brett Larner 100 km came down to a lean at the tape as Team Toyota won its first-ever New Year Ekiden corporate men's national championship title in a thrilling sprint finish over 2009 champion Team Fujitsu and 2010 champion Team Nissin Shokuhin . With an unusual number of teams losing key players to injury Toyota's chances looked good pre-race as it held the largest number of sub-28 10000 m, the fruition of several years under the leadership of head coach Toshinobu Sato who had previously turned Team Konica Minolta into one of the country's best. After two good opening stages Third Stage runner Yusuke Takabayashi set a new stage record of 38:02 for the 13.6 km course to put Toyota into the lead, and it remained in the top pack of four throughout the next three stages. Toyota anchor Takeshi Kumamoto started in 3rd and, when quickly overtaken by defending Seventh Stage winner Hiroyuki Ono of defending champion Nissin Shokuhin, latched on to close the small gap...